# US 11,112,552 B2 · Light-guide sheet and photoelectric conversion device

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,112,552 B2
- Document ID: US11112552B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/840,932
- Filed: 2020-04-06
- Published: 2020-07-23
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2017-10-20
- Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Seiji Nishiwaki; Bunzi Mizuno
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11112552B2

## CPC

- G02B 6/0025: {Diffusing sheet or layer; Prismatic sheet or layer}
- G02B 6/4298: {coupling with non-coherent light sources and/or radiation detectors, e.g. lamps, incandescent bulbs, scintillation chambers}
- G02B 5/0252: {using holographic or diffractive means}
- G02B 5/18: Diffraction gratings {(holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44)}
- G02B 6/0016: {Grooves, prisms, gratings, scattering particles or rough surfaces}
- G02B 6/0028: {Light guide, e.g. taper}
- G02B 6/42: Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02F 1/00: Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- H10F 77/147: {Shapes of bodies}
- H10F 77/488: {Reflecting light-concentrating means, e.g. parabolic mirrors or concentrators using total internal reflection}
- G02B 6/34: utilising prism or grating {(G02B6/293 takes precedence)}
- Y02E 10/52: PV systems with concentrators
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

A light-guide sheet according to the present disclosure is a light-guide sheet that takes in incident light and waveguides light in a direction intersecting with an incident direction of the incident light inside the light-guide sheet. The light-guide sheet includes: a lower refractive index layer; a light-transmissive layer that is continuously stacked with the lower refractive index layer and has a refractive index that is higher than a refractive index of the lower refractive index layer; and a diffraction grating that is disposed on the light-transmissive layer and changes a travelling direction of the incident light. A pattern of the diffraction grating is divided into a plurality of partial patterns on the light-transmissive layer, and each of the plurality of partial patterns has a concentric circular shape or a concentric polygonal shape.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A light-guide sheet that takes in incident light and waveguides light in a direction intersecting with an incident direction of the incident light inside the light-guide sheet, the light-guide sheet comprising:
a lower refractive index layer;
a light-transmissive layer that is continuously stacked with the lower refractive index layer and has a refractive index that is higher than a refractive index of the lower refractive index layer; and
a diffraction grating that is disposed on the light-transmissive layer and changes a travelling direction of the incident light,
wherein a pattern of the diffraction grating is divided into a plurality of partial patterns on the light-transmissive layer,
the plurality of partial patterns are in contact with each other, and
each of the plurality of partial patterns has a plurality of concentric circular shapes or a plurality of concentric polygonal shapes.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein the pattern of the diffraction grating is divided in a honeycomb shape.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein a pitch of the diffraction grating is uniform in the light-transmissive layer.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the light-transmissive layers are stacked with the lower refractive index layer sandwiched between the plurality of light-transmissive layers.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 4, wherein a thickness of each of lower refractive index layers change at random in stacking order, each of the lower refractive index layers being the lower refractive index layer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

A light-guide sheet comprising two sheets of the light-guide sheets according to claim 2,
wherein a single-color light-guide sheet includes the two sheets of the light-guide sheets that have been stacked, the light-transmissive layer of one of the two sheets of the light-guide sheets faces the light-transmissive layer of another of the two sheets of the light-guide sheets, and the pattern of the diffraction grating of the one of the two sheets of the light-guide sheets is not aligned with the pattern of the diffraction grating of the another of the two sheets of the light-guide sheets.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 6, comprising a plurality of the single-color light-guide sheets each being the single-color light-guide sheet,
wherein the plurality of single-color light-guide sheets changes in a pitch of the diffraction grating, and
the plurality of single-color light-guide sheets are stacked in ascending order of the pitch of the diffraction grating from an incident side of the incident light.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 7, wherein a reflective sheet is disposed on a surface that is opposite to the incident side of the incident light.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 7, wherein bead spacers are disposed between the plurality of single-color light-guide sheets, or between the plurality of single-color light-guide sheets and the reflective sheet that is disposed on a surface that is opposite to the incident side of the incident light.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A photoelectric conversion device comprising:
the light-guide sheet according to claim 1; and
a photoelectric conversion element that includes a light-receiving surface that receives the light, and converts the light received by the light-receiving surface into power,
wherein the photoelectric conversion element is disposed around the light-guide sheet, and the light-receiving surface is located to face an end face of the light-guide sheet that is located along an axis intersecting with the incident direction of the incident light.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of partial patterns has the plurality of concentric circular shapes.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of partial patterns has the plurality of concentric polygonal shapes.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of partial patterns has a plurality of concentric octadecagonal shapes as the plurality of concentric polygonal shapes.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of partial patterns has a plurality of concentric dodecagonal shapes as the plurality of concentric polygonal shapes.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of partial patterns of the diffraction grating are formed at a same height.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The light-guide sheet according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of partial patterns that are in contact with each other are configured to allow the light to propagate through one of the plurality of partial patterns to another one of the plurality of partial patterns.