US 12,222,553 B2
Light guide element, image display device, and sensing apparatus
Hiroshi Sato, Minami-ashigara (JP); Yukito Saitoh, Minami-ashigara (JP); and Katsumi Sasata, Minami-ashigara (JP)
Assigned to FUJIFILM Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by FUJIFILM Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jun. 10, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/344,181.
Application 17/344,181 is a continuation of application No. PCT/JP2019/048512, filed on Dec. 11, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2018-231788 (JP), filed on Dec. 11, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0311259 A1, Oct. 7, 2021
Int. Cl. G02B 6/00 (2006.01); F21V 8/00 (2006.01); G02B 5/18 (2006.01); G02B 6/10 (2006.01); G02B 6/34 (2006.01); G02B 27/00 (2006.01); G02B 27/01 (2006.01)
CPC G02B 6/34 (2013.01) [G02B 5/1828 (2013.01); G02B 6/0016 (2013.01); G02B 6/0036 (2013.01); G02B 6/102 (2013.01); G02B 27/0093 (2013.01); G02B 27/0101 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light guide element comprising:
a light guide plate; and
a first diffraction element, a second diffraction element, and a third diffraction element that are provided on the light guide plate,
wherein the first diffraction element diffracts incident light in two or more different directions to be incident into the light guide plate,
the second diffraction element includes a plurality of diffraction elements that are provided to be spaced from each other in a plane direction of the light guide plate and diffract the light diffracted by the first diffraction element and propagated in the light guide plate to the third diffraction element,
the third diffraction element emits the light from the light guide plate,
at least one of the first diffraction element or the third diffraction element is a liquid crystal diffraction element that is formed of a composition including a liquid crystal compound and has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction, and
the first diffraction element includes a first A diffraction element and a first B diffraction element that are arranged at different positions in the plane direction of the light guide plate and diffract light in different directions.