Seamless master and method of making same

Seamless master mold and its manufacturing method

<p>100. . .Base</p><p>102. . .arm</p><p>104. . .arm</p><p>106. . .Lengthen hollow tube</p><p>106A. . .Lengthened cylindrical member</p><p>106B. . .Solid cylindrical member</p><p>108. . .crank</p><p>110. . .Photosensitive media</p><p>110A. . .Photosensitive medium layer</p><p>110B. . .Photosensitive material layer</p><p>112. . .floor</p><p>114. . .platform</p><p>116. . .Pump</p><p>118. . .Drive mechanism</p><p>120. . .Turntable</p><p>122. . .Power transmission mechanism</p><p>124. . .nozzle</p><p>126. . .catheter</p><p>128. . .groove</p><p>130. . .catheter</p><p>132. . .oven</p><p>200. . .Base</p><p>202. . .Interference light source</p><p>204. . .Lengthening agency</p><p>206. . .Mounting Department</p><p>208. . .crank</p><p>214. . .Objective lens</p><p>216. . .magnifier</p><p>218. . .Spherical lens</p><p>220. . .Cylindrical lens</p><p>222. . .Elliptical lens</p><p>224. . .Diffuser mask</p><p>226. . .Blocker</p><p>228. . .Aperture</p><p>230. . .Surrounding zone</p><p>230A. . .Surrounding zone</p><p>300. . .container</p><p>312. . .Developing solution</p><p>400. . .Cured elastic liquid</p><p>402. . .Sleeve</p><p>402A. . .Sleeve</p><p>404A. . .Speckle pattern</p><p>404B. . .Speckle pattern</p><p>500. . .board</p><p>502. . .Base</p><p>504. . .Cylindrical mold part</p><p>506. . .Cylindrical mold part</p><p>508. . .gap</p><p>600. . .Hollow tube</p><p>602. . .First metal coating</p><p>604. . .Second metal coating</p><p>606. . .Light-Shaped Diffuser Surface</p><p>608. . .Third metal coating</p><p>608A. . .Metal gasket</p><p>610. . .Equipment for making seamless diffusers</p>

Those skilled in the art will have a clearer understanding of the advantages and features constituting the present invention after referring to the illustrated but non-limiting embodiments in the following description and the drawings forming part of the description of this case, and the present invention provides The structure and operation of a typical mechanism of. In several figures, similar codes represent the same elements, and among them:

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a machine groove including an elongated cylindrical rotatable member for manufacturing an elastic master mold of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a subsequent, timing-related side view related to FIG. 1, showing an effective amount of a commercially available curable liquid photosensitive medium such as a conventional photoresist applied to the outside of the rotatable member shown in FIG. 1. One of the preferred methods of surrounding surfaces;

Figure 3 is also a partial cross-sectional side view showing a preferred method of turning the photoresist medium into a substantially seamless, uniform layer on the outer peripheral surface of the rotatable member after the "coating" step shown in Figure 2 is completed. ;

Fig. 4 is a partial cross-section and a partial schematic side view for showing the seamless layer of the curable liquid photosensitive medium uniformly applied to another embodiment of the elongated cylindrical member shown in Figs. 1-3 Alternative method of surrounding surface;

5 is a perspective view showing a device for curing a photoresist medium;

FIG. 6 is a side view and a schematic view showing a preferred device and process for recording a variable diffuser in a cured photosensitive medium;

FIG. 7 is another view, which is slightly enlarged relative to FIG. 6 and is used to show some principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view, enlarged relative to FIG. 7, for explaining a preferred element of a preferred objective lens device used in conjunction with one of the aspects of the invention outlined above;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, slightly enlarged relative to FIG. 7, which is another element of the above aspect of the present invention;

10 is a top view of the side view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is another embodiment of a plan view, which is also based on the side view of FIG. 6 and is used to display the characteristics of the above-mentioned device and process for recording a variable diffuser in a photosensitive medium, by selectively changing The spatial relationship of the components shown in Figure 7-9 (by applying the relevant principles shown) to achieve this, Figure 7-9 is related to the exposure of the cured photosensitive medium shown in Figures 6, 10 and 11 detail;

FIG. 12 is a sectional side view showing a hollow container, the size of which can accommodate a cylindrical member, the cylindrical member has a cured, exposed photosensitive medium on its surrounding surface, and shows that the cylindrical member is inserted into the hollow container.

Figure 13 is also a partial cross-section side circle showing a preferred method for developing exposed media. Among them, there is shown on the outer peripheral surface a light-exposed photosensitive medium (shown in Figures 6, 10, and 11). A cylindrical member (shown in Figures 1-3), which is a subsequent step of the "insertion step" shown in Figure 12;

14 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a preferred method for uniformly coating a curable elastic liquid on the outer peripheral surface of the exposed photosensitive medium when the photosensitive medium developing method shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is completed;

15 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a later sequence of a method of uniformly applying a curable elastic material to a photosensitive medium that is exposed and then developed, as shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view showing the completion of a preferred method of uniformly coating a curable elastic material on the outer peripheral surface of the exposed photosensitive medium, so that an elongated and hollow cylinder of the curable elastic material is produced ( With a substantially uniform wall thickness);

Figure 17 is a sectional side view showing that after the elastic material shown is cured, it is better to separate the cured elastic groove member (having the appearance of a sleeve) from the developed photosensitive medium by inverting the cured hollow cylinder of the elastic material method;

18 is a perspective view of a base, which is a component of another embodiment or alternative device used in another embodiment or replacement of a method for manufacturing an elastic member (shown in FIGS. 14-17);

19 is a perspective view of a plate that can be disposed on the base of FIG. 18;

Fig. 20 is an assembled perspective view, which is enlarged relative to Figs. 18 and 19, showing a solid cylindrical member disposed on a plate, and then shown as being disposed on a base (Figs. 18 and 19). The solid cylindrical member is a female mold having a seamless light forming diffuser surface pattern integrally formed in an outer peripheral surface thereof, which is another embodiment of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIGS. 6, 10 and 11.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an assembly of a partial cross-section, showing a hollow cylindrical mold portion joined to surround the cylindrical member of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a fracture plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 21, showing the gap (ring gap) between the joined cylindrical mold parts shown in FIG. 21 and the solid cylindrical member so surrounded as shown in FIG. 20;

Figure 23 is a side view showing a hollow cylindrical member and an elastic master mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figures 14-17) on the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical member after curing and inversion. Therefore, the seamless light forming diffuser The surface pattern is presented on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic member / hollow cylindrical member assembly shown;

FIG. 23A shows greatly enlarged speckles appearing in the light of a light-shaped diffuser surface pattern used to record an elastic sleeve, and the light-shaped diffuser surface pattern is integrally formed on a cured elastic mother In the surrounding surface of the mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figs. 14-17), the speckle is generated by using a cylindrical lens, referring to the variable diffuser recording device shown in Figs. 7-9 and Process (including its principle);

FIG. 23B shows the greatly enlarged speckles, which appear in the light used to record the surface pattern of the light-shaped diffuser used to record the elastic sleeve. The surface pattern of the light-shaped diffuser is an integrated pool formed on the cured elastic mother In the surrounding surface of the mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figs. 14-17), the speckle is generated by using an elliptical lens, referring to the variable diffuser recording device shown in Figs. 7-9 and Process (including its principle);

23-2 is another embodiment of the side view shown in FIG. 23;

Fig. 24 is an end view of the elastic member / hollow cylindrical member assembly (shown in Fig. 23), wherein the hollow cylinder is shown with a length dimension (Fig. 23) and an outer diameter (Fig. 24), and the length and The inner diameter is related to the light-shaped diffuser surface pattern to provide structural support to it;

FIG. 24-2 is another embodiment of the end view shown in FIG. 24;

Fig. 25 is a sectional side view showing other layers of a preferred material on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic member. The result is a multi-layered tubular mix in which the surface of the light-formed diffuser is sandwiched between the layers and layers of the shown hybrid layer. ;

FIG. 26 is an end view of the multilayer mixing shown in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a sectional side view showing the outermost layer of the mixed layer shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 after the remaining layers are separated from the mixed layer, wherein the remaining tubular layer has light formed on and integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Shaped diffuser surface components;

FIG. 28 is an end view of such a remaining tubular layer shown in FIG. 27;

Figure 29 is a side view showing the remaining tubular layers (ie, hollow layers) of Figures 27 and 28, and including an additional cylindrical layer, that is, shown on its inner peripheral surface;

29-2 is another embodiment of the side view shown in FIG. 29;

FIG. 30 is an end view of the thus-stacked tubular mixture shown in FIG. 29;

FIG. 30-2 is another embodiment of the end view shown in FIG. 30.

Fig. 31 is a sectional side view showing the outer peripheral layer and the inner peripheral layer shown in Figs. 29 and 39 after the outer peripheral layer is divided, wherein the hollow cylindrical member thus shown has light formed in and integrally formed in the outer peripheral surface thereof. Shaped diffuser surface components;

FIG. 32 is an end view of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIG. 31; and

FIG. 33 is another embodiment of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, which is shown as being mounted on a conventional rotatable member, which is related to the preferred industrial application of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has several aspects, relating to the field of light-shaping diffusers, and to a seamless master mold and its manufacturing method, and the seam copying of the diffuser film, that is, continuous light shapes are painted without breakpoints or Break sign.

In particular, the first aspect of the present invention relates to a hollow, cylindrical, seamless, reversible, elastic master mold and method for making the master mold, the master mold having an integral micrometer surface structure formed thereon. The second aspect of the present invention relates to the first aspect of the present invention, and relates to a variable diffuser recording device and a manufacturing method thereof. The third aspect of the present invention relates to the other two aspects of the present invention. It relates to a seamless, cylindrical metal master mold and includes a manufacturing method thereof, and the master mold has an integral micrometer surface structure formed thereon. A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to seamless (continuous mold) manufacturing using the first three aspects.

Related Skills

The diffuser master is used to make a variety of light-shaping diffusers that can optically direct the light passing through them as required.

For example, a holographic light forming diffuser available from Physical Optics Corporation (POC) in Torrance, California, USA, sold worldwide under the trademark LSD, which includes holographic recording, random surface structure, high transmission efficiency, beam forming quality, And the ability to homogenize light. Although they are called holographic recordings, they record better using only one light beam.

In addition, U.S. Patent No. 5,365,354, assigned to Jannson et al. (Assigned to POC), which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a diffuser system having an integrally formed light-formed diffuser microstructure, in which the diffuser system consists of It is made of commercially available photosensitive media such as commercial photoresist, and the photosensitive medium has a preselected speckle pattern recorded therein.

U.S. Patents 5,534,386 and 5,609,939 (both granted to Petersen et al. And assigned to POC), which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose and describe added light-forming diffusers. The methods disclosed in two Peterson patents can be used to fabricate and replicate internal and / or surface microstructures in photosensitive media such as traditional photoresists. Microstructures can diffuse light in a highly efficient, uniform, and controlled manner that traditional methods cannot achieve.

According to a known method shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,151,917 to Perilloux et al., The microstructures forming the stack with substructures are revealed. In our application, we found several problems with laminated structures. For example, some issues related to this laminated structure are related to separation of layers, transmission loss at the interface (caused by reflection and / or refraction), or due to the bonded optical layer and the optical grade used to bond them Differences in refractive index values between epoxy resins, or problems caused by small air bubbles in the epoxy resin.

Preferably, coherent light is used to form microstructures in a conventional photosensitive material to manufacture a light-shaping diffuser. In addition, at this point, depending on the distribution angle, this light-shaping diffuser can achieve transmission efficiency between 85% and 92% for light between 365 nanometers (nm) and 1600nm. Moreover, the low backscattering of the light-shaping structure is essentially anti-reflective, which uses light wasted due to Fresnel loss.

The working principle of the LSD diffuser is outlined below. LSD diffusers are typically copied from a "holographic recording" master with only one beam. The resulting random and non-periodic light shaping and diffusing structures are considered micro-lenses. In addition, the LSD diffuser does not depend on the wavelength and functions under white light, monochromatic light, dry light, or non-dry light.

The beam shaping quality makes LSD capable of accurately shaping and distributing light. The LSD diffuser can produce a circular angle output ranging from about 0.5 ° to 100 ° and / or an elliptical output ranging from about 0.2 ° to 5 ° to 100 ° to 90 °.

Because the so-called "hot spots" and uneven light distribution patterns are common problems based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fuse-based, and arc-based light sources, and fiber optics and laser light sources as light sources, The ability to make light uniform is important. LSD diffusers significantly `` smooth '' and homogenize light from these light sources and provide uniformity in important applications such as liquid crystal display (LCD) backlights, LED displays, machine vision, autolighting, and viewing screens Light transmission.

However, traditional master molds used to make light-formed diffusers are generally flat and have limited dimensions. Existing manufacturing processes for the production of light-shaping diffusers for viewing screen applications will cause the edge boundaries of these masters to overlap, be in close proximity to, or be adjacent to each other, resulting in related edge-boundary patterns in the diffuser. The so-called "slits" are not necessary because they cause a "dry shot" and are not conducive to the ability of the diffuser to pass light through its "slit" portion. Moreover, when long continuous plastic sheets are produced in volume and rolled up for storage, the seams can press on other diffusers in the roll, destroying them. In addition, in many applications such as large high-resolution displays used in military training, air combat simulators, FAA real-time traffic control displays, and commercial displays, seams are unacceptable.

Recent developments have reduced this edge boundary "slit" in the diffuser to very thin lines. However, even a very thin line in a diffuser is still not conducive to the use of diffusers in current widescreen applications. As some well-known entertainment areas around the world currently think of, some widescreen applications can be 30 It is 40 feet wide or even 100 feet wide or more.

Therefore, there is a need to be able to manufacture seamless master molds, for example, seamless LSD diffusers. It is even more desirable to be able to manufacture diffusers of almost infinite length and having a seamless light-shaping diffuser surface thereon.

Summary of invention

The present invention can be used to solve the problem related to the diffuser and the related edge-border "dry shot" pattern of the diffuser master. The present invention is a seamless master and its manufacturing method, which will be summarized below. The invention outlined below has three aspects.

One aspect of the preferred embodiment relates to a seamless master mold, which is cylindrical and has a one-piece structure, and an integrated seamless light forming diffuser surface is formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof. This seamless master mold is preferably hollow and is preferably made of a hard metal such as nickel plating.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus and method for a seamless master mold, in which a hollow cylinder, a seamless, elastic sub-master mold previously manufactured is used to manufacture a seamless master mold, and the sub-master mold system has an integrated The seam is formed on the surface of the light forming diffuser. Preferred elastic systems are commercially available silicones. The seamless light forming and diffusing surface is integrally formed on the surrounding surface of the hollow seamless elastic master. Regarding a specific aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned elastic master (extended and having the appearance of a "sleeve") has a surface of a seamless light-forming diffuser initially formed on its inner peripheral surface, which is reversible, Thus, the elastic sleeve can be rendered and reversible to present a light-shaped diffuser surface that is seamlessly and integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber sleeve.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a device for executing a program recorded in a photosensitive medium using a variable diffuser. A final aspect of the invention relates to the use of a rubber sleeve or a nickel cylinder (ie, a replica of a rubber sleeve) to make a seamless diffuser film on a plastic substrate.

Schematic illustration

Those skilled in the art will have a clearer understanding of the advantages and features constituting the present invention after referring to the illustrated but non-limiting embodiments in the following description and the drawings forming part of the description of this case, and the present invention provides The structure and operation of a typical mechanism of. In several figures, similar codes represent the same elements, and among them:

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a machine groove including an elongated cylindrical rotatable member for manufacturing an elastic master mold of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a subsequent, timing-related side view related to FIG. 1, showing an effective amount of a commercially available curable liquid photosensitive medium such as a conventional photoresist applied to the outside of the rotatable member shown in FIG. 1. One of the preferred methods of surrounding surfaces;

Figure 3 is also a partial cross-sectional side view showing a preferred method of turning the photoresist medium into a substantially seamless, uniform layer on the outer peripheral surface of the rotatable member after the "coating" step shown in Figure 2 is completed. ;

Fig. 4 is a partial cross-section and a partial schematic side view for showing the seamless layer of the curable liquid photosensitive medium uniformly applied to another embodiment of the elongated cylindrical member shown in Figs. 1-3 Alternative method of surrounding surface;

5 is a perspective view showing a device for curing a photoresist medium;

FIG. 6 is a side view and a schematic view showing a preferred device and process for recording a variable diffuser in a cured photosensitive medium;

FIG. 7 is another view, which is slightly enlarged relative to FIG. 6 and is used to show some principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view, enlarged relative to FIG. 7, for explaining a preferred element of a preferred objective lens device used in conjunction with one of the aspects of the invention outlined above;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, slightly enlarged relative to FIG. 7, which is another element of the above aspect of the present invention;

10 is a top view of the side view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is another embodiment of a plan view, which is also based on the side view of FIG. 6 and is used to display the characteristics of the above-mentioned device and process for recording a variable diffuser in a photosensitive medium, by selectively changing The spatial relationship of the components shown in Figure 7-9 (by applying the relevant principles shown) to achieve this, Figure 7-9 is related to the exposure of the cured photosensitive medium shown in Figures 6, 10 and 11 detail;

FIG. 12 is a sectional side view showing a hollow container, the size of which can accommodate a cylindrical member, the cylindrical member has a cured, exposed photosensitive medium on its surrounding surface, and shows that the cylindrical member is inserted into the hollow container.

Figure 13 is also a partial cross-section side circle showing a preferred method for developing exposed media. Among them, there is shown on the outer peripheral surface a light-exposed photosensitive medium (shown in Figures 6, 10, and 11). A cylindrical member (shown in Figures 1-3), which is a subsequent step of the "insertion step" shown in Figure 12;

14 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a preferred method for uniformly coating a curable elastic liquid on the outer peripheral surface of the exposed photosensitive medium when the photosensitive medium developing method shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is completed;

15 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a later sequence of a method of uniformly applying a curable elastic material to a photosensitive medium that is exposed and then developed, as shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view showing the completion of a preferred method of uniformly coating a curable elastic material on the outer peripheral surface of the exposed photosensitive medium, so that an elongated and hollow cylinder of the curable elastic material is produced ( With a substantially uniform wall thickness);

Figure 17 is a sectional side view showing that after the elastic material shown is cured, it is better to separate the cured elastic groove member (having the appearance of a sleeve) from the developed photosensitive medium by inverting the cured hollow cylinder of the elastic material method;

18 is a perspective view of a base, which is a component of another embodiment or alternative device used in another embodiment or replacement of a method for manufacturing an elastic member (shown in FIGS. 14-17);

19 is a perspective view of a plate that can be disposed on the base of FIG. 18;

Fig. 20 is an assembled perspective view, which is enlarged relative to Figs. 18 and 19, showing a solid cylindrical member disposed on a plate, and then shown as being disposed on a base (Figs. 18 and 19). The solid cylindrical member is a female mold having a seamless light forming diffuser surface pattern integrally formed in an outer peripheral surface thereof, which is another embodiment of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIGS. 6, 10 and 11.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an assembly of a partial cross-section, showing a hollow cylindrical mold portion joined to surround the cylindrical member of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a fracture plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 21, showing the gap (ring gap) between the joined cylindrical mold parts shown in FIG. 21 and the solid cylindrical member so surrounded as shown in FIG. 20;

Figure 23 is a side view showing a hollow cylindrical member and an elastic master mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figures 14-17) on the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical member after curing and inversion. Therefore, the seamless light forming diffuser The surface pattern is presented on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic member / hollow cylindrical member assembly shown;

FIG. 23A shows greatly enlarged speckles appearing in the light of a light-shaped diffuser surface pattern used to record an elastic sleeve, and the light-shaped diffuser surface pattern is integrally formed on a cured elastic mother In the surrounding surface of the mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figs. 14-17), the speckle is generated by using a cylindrical lens, referring to the variable diffuser recording device shown in Figs. 7-9 and Process (including its principle);

FIG. 23B shows the greatly enlarged speckles, which appear in the light used to record the surface pattern of the light-shaped diffuser used to record the elastic sleeve. The surface pattern of the light-shaped diffuser is an integrated pool formed on the cured elastic mother In the surrounding surface of the mold (manufactured by the method shown in Figs. 14-17), the speckle is generated by using an elliptical lens, referring to the variable diffuser recording device shown in Figs. 7-9 and Process (including its principle);

23-2 is another embodiment of the side view shown in FIG. 23;

Fig. 24 is an end view of the elastic member / hollow cylindrical member assembly (shown in Fig. 23), wherein the hollow cylinder is shown with a length dimension (Fig. 23) and an outer diameter (Fig. 24), and the length and The inner diameter is related to the light-shaped diffuser surface pattern to provide structural support to it;

FIG. 24-2 is another embodiment of the end view shown in FIG. 24;

Fig. 25 is a sectional side view showing other layers of a preferred material on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic member. The result is a multi-layered tubular mix in which the surface of the light-formed diffuser is sandwiched between the layers and layers of the shown hybrid layer. ;

FIG. 26 is an end view of the multilayer mixing shown in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a sectional side view showing the outermost layer of the mixed layer shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 after the remaining layers are separated from the mixed layer, wherein the remaining tubular layer has light formed on and integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Shaped diffuser surface components;

FIG. 28 is an end view of such a remaining tubular layer shown in FIG. 27;

Figure 29 is a side view showing the remaining tubular layers (ie, hollow layers) of Figures 27 and 28, and including an additional cylindrical layer, that is, shown on its inner peripheral surface;

29-2 is another embodiment of the side view shown in FIG. 29;

FIG. 30 is an end view of the thus-stacked tubular mixture shown in FIG. 29;

FIG. 30-2 is another embodiment of the end view shown in FIG. 30.

Fig. 31 is a sectional side view showing the outer peripheral layer and the inner peripheral layer shown in Figs. 29 and 39 after the outer peripheral layer is divided, wherein the hollow cylindrical member thus shown has light formed in and integrally formed in the outer peripheral surface thereof. Shaped diffuser surface components;

FIG. 32 is an end view of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIG. 31; and

FIG. 33 is another embodiment of the hollow cylindrical member shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, which is shown as being mounted on a conventional rotatable member, which is related to the preferred industrial application of the present invention.

Explanation of main component symbols

100. . .Base

102. . .arm

104. . .arm

106. . .Lengthen hollow tube

106A. . .Lengthened cylindrical member

106B. . .Solid cylindrical member

108. . .crank

110. . .Photosensitive media

110A. . .Photosensitive medium layer

110B. . .Photosensitive material layer

112. . .floor

114. . .platform

116. . .Pump

118. . .Drive mechanism

120. . .Turntable

122. . .Power transmission mechanism

124. . .nozzle

126. . .catheter

128. . .groove

130. . .catheter

132. . .oven

200. . .Base

202. . .Interference light source

204. . .Lengthening agency

206. . .Mounting Department

208. . .crank

214. . .Objective lens

216. . .magnifier

218. . .Spherical lens

220. . .Cylindrical lens

222. . .Elliptical lens

224. . .Diffuser mask

226. . .Blocker

228. . .Aperture

230. . .Surrounding zone

230A. . .Surrounding zone

300. . .container

312. . .Developing solution

400. . .Cured elastic liquid

402. . .Sleeve

402A. . .Sleeve

404A. . .Speckle pattern

404B. . .Speckle pattern

500. . .board

502. . .Base

504. . .Cylindrical mold part

506. . .Cylindrical mold part

508. . .gap

600. . .Hollow tube

602. . .First metal coating

604. . .Second metal coating

606. . .Light-Shaped Diffuser Surface

608. . .Third metal coating

608A. . .Metal gasket

610. . .Equipment for making seamless diffusers

Description of the preferred embodiment

Referring to Figures 1-3, a method and apparatus for uniformly coating a suitable curable liquid photosensitive material, such as commercially available, onto an elongated, rotatable cylindrical member is shown. Regarding the device, the base 100 is shown, and the opposing arms 102 and 104 are attached to the base. The device further comprises an elongated hollow tube 106 (or a tubular member), as shown in FIG. 1, which is installed between the arms 102 and 104 and can be rotated around the axis AA by a crank 108.

The preferred hollow tube 106 is made of commercial smooth glass such as various types of door and window glass. Another embodiment of the hollow tube 106 may be made of a suitable smooth commercial plastic such as melamine, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, or a suitable commercial acrylic plastic such as polymethyl methacrylate.

A preferred method of applying a curable liquid photosensitive medium 110, such as a photoresist, to the hollow tube 106 (preferably glass), as shown in FIG. 2, is to extend the entire length of the hollow glass tube 106 by hand. The photosensitive medium 110 is inserted, and then the crank 108 is rotated until the entire outer peripheral surface of the hollow tube 106 is coated with a uniformly coated photoresist layer. This "coating" is preferably performed three times, with about forty minutes of air-drying time (at room temperature) between each coating. As a result, three layers each coated with photoresist are finally uniformly coated. The layered curable liquid photosensitive medium 110.

When the "three coating" step is completed, the photosensitive medium 110 has a radial thickness ranging from about 1 micrometer to about 100 micrometers. Preferably, the photosensitive medium 110 has a radial thickness of about 35 microns.

FIG. 4 shows another device and method for applying the curable liquid photosensitive medium 110 as a uniform coating layer to the outer peripheral surface of another elongated cylindrical member 106A. The cylindrical member 106A is a solid cylinder. FIG. 4 shows the platform 114, the pump 116, and the driving mechanism 118 mounted on the floor 112. The cylindrical member 106A is shown as being mounted on a turntable 120, which is then rotatably mounted about an axis BB.

A power transmission mechanism 122 for rotatably driving the turntable 120 to rotate about the axis BB is coupled between the driving mechanisms 118 and 120. As shown in FIG. 4, the transmission mechanism is used to transmit power from the driving mechanism 118 to the turntable 120 to rotate the cylindrical member 106A about the axis BB.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the nozzle 124 is shown in communication with the pump 116 via a conduit 126. The nozzle 124 is preferably configured to provide a conventional fluid such as a curable liquid photosensitive medium 110 along the entire length of the cylindrical member 106A. Therefore, the curable liquid photosensitive medium 110 contained in the tank 128 is supplied to the pump 116 through the conduit 130.

The curing of the liquid photosensitive medium 110 is performed by baking. For example, FIG. 5 shows a conventional oven 132. A solid cylinder 106A (not shown) or an elongated hollow tube 106 (for example, see FIGS. 1-3) with a uniform layer 110 of a photosensitive medium thereon will It is placed in an oven to cure the medium 110. The baking medium 110 is baked at a temperature such as 100 ° C. for about 40 minutes or about 2 hours to perform the curing required for the photosensitive medium 110. More preferably, the baking medium 110 is cured at a temperature of about 90 ° C. for about 2 and 1 to 2 hours. Even more preferably, at a temperature of about 60 ° C., the baking medium 110 is baked for about 3 hours to perform curing of the photosensitive medium 110.

Different diffusers have traditional uses, for example, to match the use of light pipes and liquid crystal displays. For example, flat-panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays for laptop computers, typically have a backlight-based display panel that illuminates the liquid crystal. An important requirement of a conventional backlight system is to provide a substantially uniform light distribution and a sufficiently strong light distribution over the entire surface of a generally flat display panel. To achieve these two requirements, current backlighting systems typically have one or more light pipes in the system to couple light energy from the light source to the LCD panel. In conjunction with the traditional diffuse backlighting system, it is desirable to incorporate one or more variable diffuser elements into the system. The variable diffuser elements are arranged along a surface of one or more valence light tubes to The incident light is scattered to the output plane to achieve a predetermined criterion. For example, the output plane can be coupled to LCD panels of current technology in a conventional manner so that light is coupled through the LCD panel. By incorporating a variable diffuser that can evenly guide light across the screen from the edge of the LCD panel and guide the light in the direction of the user, this diffuse backlight system can not only control the The ability of a diffusing medium to provide the ability to control the light distribution, as well as the ability to control the angle of the light distribution, both are desired results.

Therefore, referring to FIGS. 6-11, one of the aspects of the present invention described above is used to implement the principles and preferred elements of a preferred method and device for performing variable diffuser recording in a photosensitive medium.

In particular, Fig. 6-11 shows a preferred method, device and component for making the cured photosensitive medium layer to receive the dry light source and rotating the cylindrical member about its longitudinal axis so as to extend substantially. The cured photosensitive medium whose length and outer peripheral surface is exposed, thereby generating different predetermined light shaping and diffusion microstructures in the exposed photosensitive medium which substantially extends its length and outer peripheral surface, wherein the exposed photosensitive The medium can be developed to record speckle patterns therein.

The preferred dry light (or irradiated light) light source is traditional electro-radiation. In this regard, commercially available UV excimer radiation and cyanide radiation can be used.

Referring first to FIG. 6 again, the device shown includes a base 200 and a dry light source 202 spaced from the base 200. The preferred dry light source is electro-light. The device shown includes an elongated mechanism 204, which is characterized in that it includes spaced mounting portions 26 (one of which is shown in the foreground of FIG. 6) fixed to the base 200, and a crank rotatably carried by the mounting portion 206 208 (both are shown in FIG. 10), wherein the crank 208 is rotatable about the axis CC, spaced above and substantially parallel to the base 200, and the mounting portion 206 is configured to make the tube 106 to dry shot The light source 202 appears rotatably horizontally.

Referring also to a device for recording a variable diffuser in a photosensitive medium, the hollow cylindrical member 106 (for example, FIGS. 1-3) is rotatably mounted on the mechanism 204 (FIGS. 6, 10, and 11). On its outer peripheral surface, there is a cured, uniform photosensitive material layer 110A.

The device shown is shown as including an optical objective lens device 214, which is spaced above the base 200. The objective lens device 214 is disposed between the dry light source 202 and the hollow cylindrical member 106 to perform the physical relationships shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 10, and 11. These physical relationships will be described in detail below.

Referring briefly to FIG. 8, a preferred objective lens device 214 is shown, which is characterized by including a magnifying glass 216, a spherical lens 218, a cylindrical lens 220, an elliptical lens 222, and combinations thereof, typically 20X to 60X, for providing magnifying elements respectively. , A columnar elongated element, and a cross-sectional area thereof to dry light.

Returning to FIGS. 6, 10 and 11, the device shown includes a diffuser mask 224 mounted on the base 200 and located between the objective lens device 214 and the cylindrical member 106 for diffusing dry light from the light source 202. A preselected irregular speckle pattern is applied to the pattern, and the pattern then exposes the cured photoresist layer 110A on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 106.

As understood by those skilled in the art, the cross-sectional area of the dry light passing through the optical objective device 214 will be selected as the precise combination of components contained in the objective lens device 214, as required to be enlarged or reduced, and / or subject to a cylinder Ground influence, and / or affected by elliptical ground.

However, rather than being widely known to those skilled in the art, specific diffusers can be designed to achieve this result. For example, in order to obtain this result through a special diffuser, the light-transmitting mask 224 is preferably a light holographic diffuser capable of applying a desired, preselected speckle pattern to a recording medium, as in As described in U.S. Patent No. 5,365,354 (to Jannson, etc.) and U.S. Patent Nos. 5,534,386 and 5,609,939 (to Petersen, etc.), these patents are assigned to Physical Optics, Inc. of Torrance, California, and are incorporated herein by reference. When abstracting these patents, our colleagues found that the preselected irregular speckle pattern used to record the diffuser allowed the diffuser to modify the shape of the output light passing through the diffuser as needed during playback. Ground glass, or other suitable light-transmitting masks 224 may also be used.

Referring to FIG. 6, the device shown further includes a barrier 226 that defines an aperture 228 (FIG. 9) having a preselected size, wherein the barrier 226 is carried by the base 200 and is positioned and aligned with the diffuser mask 224 and the cylindrical member 106. So that a preselected portion of the cured layer of the photosensitive medium 110B currently exposed but not yet developed on the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical member 106 is performed as desired and optionally (the peripheral zone 230 shown in FIG. 10) ) Exposure.

Referring to FIG. 9, as viewed from FIGS. 6, 7, 10, and 11, the preferred blocker 226 is generally planar and planar, and is oriented perpendicular to the path of the dry light.

Referring again to FIG. 9, the aperture 228 is shown as being generally rectangular, with fairly sharp edges and having a width (W) ranging from about 3 inches to about 10 inches and about 3 inches to about 5 inches (preferably About 4 inches, but the height (H) of the cylindrical member 106).

Referring again to the device shown for recording a variable diffuser in a photosensitive material, the first length (L1) shown in Figures 6, 7, 10, and 11 is defined as the dry light emitted by the optical objective device 214 and The distance traveled by the diffuser masks 224.

The second length (L2) dimension is defined as the distance traveled by the dry light between the diffuser mask 224 and the photosensitive material 110B on the outer peripheral surface of the now exposed cylindrical member 106.

The third length (L3) dimension is defined as the distance traveled by the exposed layer (FIG. 7) of the photosensitive medium 110B on the cylindrical member 106 by the dry light and the apertured (FIG. 9) barrier 226.

During normal operation of the device shown, any one of the first, second, and third lengths (L1-L3) may be relative to the size of any of the other lengths (LI-L3), depending on the selected The criterion is controllably changed to record a variable diffuser in the photosensitive medium 110A.

In operation, the rotation of the hollow cylindrical member 106 around the rotation axis CC of the mechanism 204 is used to expose the unexposed layer of the photosensitive medium 110A on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 106 to the light which first passes through the optical objective device 214 and then passes through Under the diffuser mask 224 and finally the dry light (from the light source 202) passing through the aperture 228 of the blocker 226, a part of the photosensitive material 110B on the tube 106 is exposed.

From the above, the process for performing variable diffuser recording in a photosensitive medium can be summarized as follows.

This process feature includes the provision of an elongated cylindrical member 106 that is rotatably mounted on the mounting portion 206 and is disposed along the longitudinal axis CC. It has a cured, unexposed photosensitive medium layer 110A on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 106. on.

The process further includes directing the dry light generated by the dry light source 202 to the cured, unexposed photosensitive medium 110A, and inserting the light objective lens device 214 into the dry light between the dry light source and the unexposed photosensitive medium 110A. .

The process further includes steps such that a light-transmitting diffuser mask 224 is inserted into the dry light between the optical objective lens 214 and the unexposed photosensitive medium 110A, and then a barrier 226 having an aperture 228 having a preselected size is defined. Separately inserted into the dry light between the light-transmitting diffuser mask 224 and the unexposed photosensitive medium 110A.

The process also includes steps to subsequently change the size of the distance (L1 and / or L2 and / or L3) between the diffuser mask 224 and the optical objective device 214, or the diffuser mask 224 and the unexposed photoreceptor. The distance dimension between the dielectric layers 110A and / or the distance dimension between the barrier 226 and the unexposed photosensitive medium layer 110A is used to perform variable exposure of the cured, unexposed photosensitive medium layer 110A.

This process further includes the step of rotating the cylindrical member 106 around its extension axis CC via a crank 208 or by a motor (not shown) through a preselected angle "Alpha" <img file="TW503166B_D0001.tif" /> (Shown in FIG. 6), so that the arched portion caused by the unexposed photosensitive medium layer 110A in the narrower band region 230 (FIG. 10) or the wider band region 230A (FIG. 11) is exposed to dry light preselection For a period of time to expose the wider band 230 or the narrower band 230A, either is suitable for the photosensitive medium 110B that is currently exposed.

The process further includes the step of continuing to rotate the cylindrical member 106 through a preselected angle, appearing under dry light, so as to make the entire periphery of the narrower zone 230 (FIG. 10) of the unexposed photosensitive medium 110A on the cylindrical member 106 shown. The boundary or the entire surrounding boundary of the wider band 230A (Figure 11) is exposed.

Referring to FIG. 10, the peripheral band 230 is thus defined as a longitudinal portion of the peripheral outer surface of the cylindrical member 106 in the longitudinal direction of the unexposed photosensitive medium 110B rotated through 360 °. A similarly long peripheral outer surface of the unexposed photosensitive medium 110B is shown in FIG. 11 as a relatively wide peripheral band 230A. Therefore, the process includes moving the cylindrical trench member 106 relative to the light source by a preselected vertical or horizontal distance (as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11), and repeating the above steps until the entire peripheral outer surface of the unexposed photosensitive medium layer 110A is exposed.

In summary, the variable diffuser can thus be manufactured by the following steps: (1) The tube member 106 is partially rotated around the axis CC (FIGS. 10 and 11) to represent the unexposed photosensitive medium 110A on the tube 106. Required parts; (2) select appropriate lenses 216, 218, 220, and / or 222 for objective lens device 214; (3) select apertures 228 that provide the required "W" and "H" sizes (Figure 9 ); (4) select appropriate relative distances L1, L2, and L3, and reticle 224 (Figure 7); and (5) enable the dry light source 202 to obtain the required in the resulting exposed photosensitive medium 110B Speckle pattern. Thereafter, the tube 106 having the photosensitive medium 110A on it still unexposed is moved laterally with respect to the incident light as required (FIGS. 10 and 11) and steps (2) to (5) are repeated to place the tube on the tube. A longitudinally variable diffuser characteristic was obtained in the photosensitive medium 110B exposed on 106. Alternatively, steps (1) to (5) are repeated to obtain the surrounding variable light diffuser characteristics in the photosensitive medium 110B exposed on the tube 106. According to the principles of our invention, the variable diffuser can record the narrow surrounding band 230 (Fig. 10) of different light shaping and diffuse microstructures that each record different light output characteristics during playback as required. ) Or a wider peripheral band 230A (Figure 11), or a combination of narrow and wide peripheral bands 230, 230A, the variable diffuser can thus be made on a single pipe groove such as the pipe 106. Other principles shown and described above for the implementation of the device and process for recording variable diffusers in photosensitive media can be understood from the information shown in the table below and from the following discussions related to that information.

<tables><img file="TW503166B_D0002.tif" /></tables>

The last row of the table lists the output angle of the last master mode, that is, the angle of the shaped light pyramid output by the last master mode. In the first two registrations, one of the listed angles corresponds to the circular output of light, while a table with two angles corresponds to the major and minor angles of the elliptical shaped output. Moreover, two angles are listed, the first angle is an angle arranged along the length of the tube 106 during the exposure step, and the second angle is an angle accurately arranged around the periphery of the unexposed photosensitive material 110A. This elliptical output is due to the elliptical nature of the objective lens disclosed in the first column of the table and / or the elliptical nature of the intermediate female model disclosed in the table. The intermediate female model with an elliptical output was exposed to recording light with an elliptical speckle as shown in Figs. 23A and 23B, so that it itself was previously preferably recorded as an elliptical LSD diffuser.

It is also noted that L2 is generally quite large for small angles and quite small for large angles. The different parameters appearing in the table can thus be changed to produce a light-shaping diffuser pattern in one or more portions of the exposed photosensitive material 110B (see, for example, Figures 6-11). This pattern It is arranged precisely or longitudinally along the outer peripheral surface of the tube 106 as required. Finally, as described here, we have advantageously found that exposure to photosensitive materials causes exposures clustered together at the edge boundaries, so that even if different recording structures have been recorded in adjacent parts of the master mold, Produce a truly seamless diffuser master.

According to this aspect of our invention, the exposed photosensitive material 110B on the tube 106 is a truly seamless diffuser master after development (for example, see FIGS. 23 and 13), and is exposed as described below. The developed and subsequently developed photosensitive material 110C is used to make other seamless master molds.

The following examples disclose and illustrate the selection procedures and equipment (known to those skilled in the art) used to generate the data appearing in the form.

Example: Arrange light and installation

Set the appropriate objective lens (typically 20X to 60X); when a pinhole filter is needed for fashion. Place the middle master diffuser in place on the appropriate tray and hold the middle master diffuser firmly down. Depending on the required scattering angle, place the appropriate intermediate master on the holder. Place the last master mold and associated holders in place; hold and secure the holders down firmly (for example, stick). As shown in the table, the setting of the large-scale elliptical diffuser master will set the cylindrical lens behind the objective lens to form a "soft" edge focus with a width of 3 to 9 inches. Direct the light from this slit to the center of the middle master. Place all blocks to prevent any stray light from falling on the final master. Finally, adjust the dry light to about 30 μm to read the final master.

The explanations related to the examples are thus concluded. Therefore, the following description of how to expose with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 is to convert the undeveloped photosensitive medium 110B into a developed photosensitive medium 110C.

By selecting an appropriate hollow cylindrical container 300 (see FIG. 12), development of the now exposed photosensitive material 110B is started. The selected hollow cylindrical container 300 has a length and an inner diameter sufficient to accommodate and hold the exposed surface on the outer peripheral surface. The cylindrical member 106 of the photosensitive medium layer 110B.

Then, the tube 106 is placed in the container 300. Next, the commercially available developing solution 312 is poured into the container 300, preferably, as shown in FIG. 13, into the annular space between the container 300 and the cylindrical member 106.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the exposed photosensitive medium 110B is brought into contact with an effective amount (preferably 10% aqueous solution) of a commercially available developing solution 312 for about 30 seconds to about 1 minute, and the exposed light is exposed. The material 110B is preferably developed.

Alternatively, a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 4 may be used to develop with an exposed photosensitive medium. For example, the exposed photosensitive material has a developer solution sprayed on it, and the resulting developer loss can be collected in a structure (not shown) to collect (possibly reuse) the developer as needed.

In any case, upon completion of the developing step, a light-shaped diffusing surface characterized by a pre-selected irregular microstructure will be fixed in the photosensitive medium that develops along the entire length of the cylindrical member 106 and the outer surface. In terms of microscopic dimensions, the surface of the light-formed diffuser is a variation in the length and selection of the elements and / or components of the diffuser recording device shown in FIGS. 6-11 described above. In addition, those skilled in the art, after reading this manual, will understand the direction in which replacing one or more of the components shown with a functionally equivalent mechanism will result in the desired microstructure of the light-shaped diffuser surface: ie For example, it may be perpendicular to or parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical member 106 as desired.

We have also found that the overlapping effect at the edge boundary caused by the overlap of the exposed narrow cylindrical band 230 (FIG. 10) of one embodiment or the exposed wide cylindrical band 230A of another embodiment, as expected, not only It does not cause a seam to extend along this overlapping area, but instead produces a continuous and truly seamless light forming and diffusing surface that extends substantially the entire length of the cylindrical member 106 and the outer peripheral surface.

Referring to FIGS. 14-17, a preferred method of applying the curable elastic liquid 400 to the cylindrical member 106 will be described. The cylindrical member 106 is now provided with a photoforming substantially fixed along the entire length of the cylindrical member 106 and the outer peripheral surface. A diffuser surface, wherein the light-shaped diffuser surface is provided by a photosensitive medium 110C developed on the cylindrical member 106.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, by pouring an appropriate commercially available curable liquid elastic material into a vertically arranged cylindrical member 106, the cylindrical member 106 is extended. The length of the developed photosensitive material 110C and the outer peripheral surface are coated with a curable elastic liquid 400.

A sufficient amount of the curable elastic liquid 400 is poured into the tube member 106 (FIG. 5) to cover the entire length of the tube member 106 and the outer peripheral surface, thereby generating a hollow cylindrical elastic member or sleeve 402 as shown in FIG. 16. Then, the uncured elastic member or sleeve 402 covering the tube 106 will be cured, thereby producing a cured hollow cylindrical elastic member or sleeve 402A (FIG. 17), which can be easily inverted to communicate with the cylindrical member (or tube). ) 106 separation.

Preferably, the reversible, hollow cylindrical elastic member 402A has a radial thickness of about 1/16 inch to about 1/8 inch. Because the cured elastic member 402A is in close contact with the microstructure of the surface of the light-shaped diffuser recorded in the photosensitive medium on the cylindrical member 106 before being cured, the resulting cured elastic member 402A extends uncured in its surface. The elastic member 402 and the entire surrounding surface of the microstructure on the surface of the cylindrical member 106 in close contact (FIG. 16) integrally form the surface of the seamless light forming diffuser. Initially, the microstructure was attached to the inner peripheral surface of the uncured elastic member 402. After curing, and when inverted (see, for example, FIG. 17), the microstructure and photoformed diffuser surfaces appear on the outer peripheral surface of the cured elastic member 402A.

Referring again to FIG. 17, note that at this time, the cured elastic member 402A itself will be used to manufacture a seamless diffuser by a process known to those skilled in the art after reading this specification. However, as detailed below, we prefer to use the elastic member 402A to make a more durable seamless master.

To cure the uncured elastic member 402 (FIG. 16) shown, we prefer to leave the cured elastic material at room temperature for about 24 hours. As used herein, the term room temperature refers to 77 ° F (25 ° C).

Referring now to FIGS. 18-22, another method for manufacturing the cured cylindrical elastic member described above will be described.

Another method using the requirements and components shown in Figs. 18-22 is as follows.

The solid cylindrical member 106B is made in accordance with the principles of the present invention, preferably made of glass, and has a seamless light forming diffuser surface integrally formed over its entire length and outer peripheral surface, which is placed on the plate 500 Then, the board 500 is then disposed on the base 502 (FIGS. 18-20). The base 502 and the plate 500 shown are generally circular or dish-shaped, and as shown in FIG. 20, are sized and configured to be concentric with the cylindrical member 106B when assembled (FIG. 22).

As shown in FIG. 21, the cylindrical mold portions 504, 506 are sized to surround a solid cylindrical member 106B, as shown in FIG. 21, which is then disposed on the plate 200 and joined. As shown in FIG. 22, the axial length of the joined mold part 506 and the inner diameter during the joining are sized so that a gap 508 appears between the joined mold parts 504, 506 and the cylindrical member 106B with respect to the solid cylindrical member 106B. .

Next, as described above, the curable elastic liquid 400 (FIGS. 14 and 15) is poured into the gap 508 and cured, so as to generate another embodiment of the above-mentioned elongated hollow cylindrical elastic member in the gap 508. Preferably, another embodiment (not shown) of the elongated hollow cylindrical elastic member (described above) is similarly reversible and also has a radial thickness of about 1/16 inch to about 1/8 inch. The above-mentioned method for manufacturing a one-piece hollow cylindrical reversible elastomer master will be summarized below.

The method includes a sequence of steps. The first step is to apply an effective amount of a curable liquid photosensitive medium to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member. The cylindrical member is preferably elongated, defining a longitudinal axis. In addition, the cylindrical member is rotatable about its longitudinal axis.

A further step is to rotate a cylindrical member having a curable liquid photosensitive medium thereon around its longitudinal axis to substantially extend the length of the cylindrical member and the outer circumferential surface to form a substantially seamless material having a substantially uniform radial dimension. The photosensitive medium layer is cured.

Then, the photosensitive medium layer is cured on the elongated cylindrical member.

A further step of the method includes subsequently subjecting a cured photosensitive medium layer (coated to a cylindrical member) substantially extending its length and the outer peripheral surface to a dry light source passing through the intermediate master diffuser and applying speckles accordingly. Give it, and then, rotate the cylindrical member about its longitudinal axis so that the photosensitive medium that substantially extends its length and the outer peripheral surface is irregularly exposed according to the special speckle in the dry light. The medium can be developed.

Next, the exposed photosensitive medium pool develops the length of the photosensitive medium on the cylindrical member and the outer peripheral surface plate to develop the irregular exposure area of the photosensitive medium to become a solid microstructure in the medium.

The method further comprises the steps of coating an effective amount of a curable elastic liquid substantially along the length of the developed photosensitive material and the surface of the peripheral image, and then curing the elastic liquid to produce an elongated hollow cylindrical elastic member having a predetermined radial size. It will be in close contact with the now developed microstructures in the photosensitive material, thereby creating a seamless light forming and diffusing surface where the microstructures are in close contact with the microstructures, in which the hollow cylindrical elastic member is reversible.

The reversible hollow cylindrical elastic member is then separated from the developed photosensitive material having a speckle pattern recorded therein. The reversible hollow cylindrical elastic member as a whole includes a seamless light forming diffuser substantially extending its length and an inner circumferential surface.

Another step of the method includes inverting the hollow cylindrical elastic member to present a seamless light-shaping diffuser surface substantially extending the length of the hollow cylindrical elastic member and the outer peripheral surface, thereby generating a hollow cylindrical elastic master mold itself. It can be used to make seamless diffusers or more durable seamless masters as needed.

The above-mentioned hollow cylindrical elastic member (sleeve) having such an integral light-forming and light-diffusing surface on the surrounding surface is preferably made of commercially available silicone.

As mentioned above, the silicone sleeve 402A preferably has an integrated light-shaping and light-diffusing surface, which takes the form of multiple elongated overall microstructures 404A (FIG. 23) or 404B (FIG. 23B), which are better The ground is formed by an optical objective lens device 214 (FIGS. 7 and 8), as described in the variable diffuser device and method (FIGS. 6-11) of the invention described above, and is specifically selected to include a cylindrical mirror-like element (FIG. 23A) ) Or elliptical mirror-like element (Figure 23B).

Referring now to FIGS. 23-32, a preferred method for manufacturing a one-piece hollow cylindrical seamless metal master mold is another aspect of the present invention. The following method will be explained with reference to the principle described here. In short, a one-piece hollow cylindrical seamless metal master has an integrated light-shaping and light-diffusing surface on its outer peripheral surface portion.

The hollow tube 600 preferably has a commercially available acrylic material and has an outer diameter of about 6 inches, which has an inverted silicone sleeve 402A, preferably 1/8 inch radial thickness, and is mounted on the hollow tube 600 On the outer peripheral surface (Figures 23 and 24). Silicone sleeve 402A has a seamless light-forming diffuser surface that is integrated with its entire length and outer peripheral surface.

The tube 600 and the rubber sleeve 402A are relatively sized to have substantially the same length. In addition, the inner diameter of the sleeve 402A is dimensioned relative to the outer diameter of the tube 600, so that the inner diameter of the elastic sleeve 402A is slightly stretched. As a result, the outer surface of the sleeve 402A will Is reversed (see, for example, FIGS. 14-17) and under slightly greater tension and extends substantially over the entire outer peripheral surface of the tube 600 so that the sleeve 402A is not rotatably carried by the tube 600 without Will move longitudinally relative to the tube 600.

The method for manufacturing the one-piece hollow cylindrical seamless metal master mold then closely contacts the outer peripheral surface of the elastic material with an effective amount of the first metal coating 602. The coating 602 is thus applied substantially to the length of the sleeve 402A and the outer peripheral surface is applied to the surface of the light-formed diffuser of the sleeve 402A to "convert" the elastic sleeve 402A. Be applied to it. A better "conversion" coating is silver. In addition to applying a silver coating as described herein, other suitable metal "conversion" coatings are applied by suitable methods known to those skilled in the art, such as vapor deposition.

The purpose of the "conversion" coating is to enable the appropriate hard metal to be subsequently applied to the surface portion of the light-formed diffuser of the silicone sleeve 402A. Other suitable "conversion" metals can be applied to the light-formed diffuser of the silicone sleeve 402A by, for example, vapor deposition, or plating onto the "conversion" coating described above.

The "conversion" coating 602 (shown in Figure 25) is preferably silver and is radially sized at a microscopic scale, has a radial thickness of about 1 to about 40 and preferably has 1 to 9 Of thickness.

The first metal coating 602 thus has an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface in close contact with the surface of the light-shaped diffuser, which is located on the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A. In addition, compared to the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A, the first metal coating layer 602 will substantially duplicate and transform the surface of the light-shaped diffuser from the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 402A to A "conversion" (first metal) coating 602.

The above-mentioned one-piece hollow-cylindrical seamless metal master mold for manufacturing the above-mentioned seamless diffuser for different applications (especially wide screens) further includes steps to enable "conversion" (ie, the first metal) coating The outer peripheral surface of the layer is in close contact with the second metal layer 604, which is preferably passivatable. The second metal layer 604 has an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface. The inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first metal coating layer 602 such that, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the cylindrical element 600 and the hollow cylindrical elastic material After the layer 402A is separated from the second metal layer 604, the surface of the light-formed diffuser is copied from the outer surface of the first metal coating (that is, the conversion coating 602) to the inner surface of the second intermediate layer 604 that is passivatable The two surrounding tables result in a hollow cylindrical metal gasket 608 with a light-formed diffuser surface 606. The light-formed diffuser surface 606 is seamlessly integrated along its entire length (Figure 31) and the outer peripheral surface (Figure 23). form.

In addition, as is well known in the art, the above method can be repeated to produce another embodiment of a metal gasket 608A having a length and an inner diameter, which is rotatably mounted on a commercially available one shown in FIG. 33 The device 610 is used for manufacturing a seamless diffuser having a desired width and length.

To illustrate this particular aspect of the invention, the method described above for forming a one-piece seamless metal master will now be outlined.

The method includes the steps of radially mounting a single hollow cylindrical layer 402A of elastic material on an outer peripheral surface portion of a cylindrical element 600. The single hollow cylindrical layer 402A of elastic material defines an outer peripheral surface and has an integral body on the outer peripheral surface. Light-shaping diffuser surface 606 (Figures 23 and 24). The light-shaping diffuser surface defines multiple pre-selected speckle patterns 404A (Figure 23A) or 404B (Figure 22B) and their final, related geometry (for example, Figures 23A and 23B), which have Pre-selected orientation and size in horizontal or vertical configuration and pre-selected radial size.

The present invention further includes steps for bringing the outer peripheral surface of the single elastic material layer 402A into close contact with an effective amount of the "conversion" coating 602 (FIGS. 25 and 26) of the first metal, wherein the first metal (ie, the " Conversion ") coating defines the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface, the inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A, and the first metal coating layer 602 relative to the outer periphery of the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A On the surface, in terms of quantity and radial size, the surface of the light-forming diffuser will be radially copied from the outer peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A to the first metal coating layer 602, and substantially copied to the first The outer peripheral surface of the metal coating 602.

The method further comprises the steps of bringing the outer peripheral surface of the first metal coating layer 602 into close contact with the second metal layer 604, wherein the second metal is preferably passivatable, and the second metal layer 604 defines the outer peripheral surface. And inner peripheral surface The inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first metal coating 602, so that the cylindrical element 600 and the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A (for example, refer to FIGS. 25 and 26) and the second metal layer 604 After separation (for example, please refer to FIGS. 27 and 28), the surface of the light-formed diffuser is substantially copied from the outer peripheral surface of the first metal coating 602 to the inner surface of the passivatable second metal layer 604. Surrounding surface.

The method therefore includes steps to passivate the second metal layer 604 to separate the cylindrical element 600 and the hollow cylindrical elastic material layer 402A from the second metal layer 604 (for example, please refer to FIGS. 25 and 26). The diffuser surface 606 is substantially copied from the outer peripheral surface of the first metal coating 602 to the inner peripheral surface of the passivated second metal layer 604 (as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28).

The method further includes a step of passivating the inner and outer light-shaping diffuser surface portions 606 of the second metal layer 604, and then forming the inner and outer light-shaping diffuser surface portions 606 and the third of the second metal layer 604. The metal layer 608 is in close contact. The third metal layer 608 is cylindrical and defines an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface. The outer peripheral surface is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the second metal layer 604, so that the second metal layer 608 After being separated from 604 (for example, refer to FIGS. 31 and 32), the light-shaped diffuser surface 606 (for example, see FIGS. 29 and 30) will be substantially radial from the inner peripheral surface of the second metal layer 604 The ground copy is transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical third metal layer 608.

The method therefore further includes the step of separating the passivated second metal layer from the cylindrical third metal layer 608, so that the light-formed diffuser surface 606 is substantially radially from the inner peripheral surface of the second metal layer 604 Copy to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical third metal layer. In the method outlined above, the first metal coating 602 is preferably silver and the second metal layer 604 is preferably electroplated nickel. In addition, the electroplated nickel layer 604 shown is preferably longitudinally elongated, single, hollow, and cylindrical, and has a radial thickness of about 0.05 inches to about .0010 inches. In the method outlined above, the third metal layer 608 is also preferably electroplated nickel, which is longitudinally elongated, single, and has a radial thickness of about .002 inches.

Another method shown in Figures 23-2, 24-2, 29-2, and 30-2 will now be outlined. This method concerns the manufacture of a metal (preferably nickel) cylindrical sleeve.

As shown in FIGS. 23-2 and 24-2, a silicone sleeve 402A having an integral light-forming diffuser surface 606 on the inner diameter is longitudinally disposed in the hollow tube 600. The inner diameter of the tube 600 has substantially the same size as the outer diameter of the sleeve 402A, and as a result, the rubber sleeve 402A is tightly joined in the tube 600. The radial thickness of the sleeve 402A is preferably 1/10 inch.

Next, a silver "conversion" coating is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 402A on the integrated light-formed diffuser surface 606 and preferably completely covers the integrated light-formed diffuser surface 606.

After this hard metal, nickel is preferably plated onto a "conversion" coating. The radial thickness of the silver "conversion" coating is as described above. The radial thickness of the nickel thus plated is as described above, and is preferably about 5/1000 inches to about 7/1000 inches.

Finally, as shown in FIGS. 29-2 and 30-2, the third metal layer 608 is plated on the nickel layer (described above). The radial thickness of the third metal layer 608 is as described above. Moreover, the subsequent steps for manufacturing the nickel sleeve are as described above.

Here is illustrated and shown a cylindrical seamless metal master mold used to make a seamless light-formed diffuser sheet having a desired length and width, the seamless light-formed diffuser sheet extending the length of the sheet and / or Kuankuan has uniform or variable diffusion characteristics. Several aspects of seamless metal diffusers are also shown and described, including methods and devices for making one-piece hollow reversible rubber masters, and methods for recording variable diffusers in photosensitive media such as flow resistance only Process. Although the present invention is described in the above text and drawings, the inventor does not intend to limit the invention to the preferred embodiments described herein. In fact, after referring to this specification, those skilled in the art will envision other embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the present inventor claims that the present invention is protected by all the embodiments and equivalent embodiments of the broad interpretation of the scope of patent application attached below.