Patent ID: 8259384
Filing Date: 2012-09-04
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
1. An illumination device comprising: a light guide member having a lower face, an upper face, and side faces; a light source provided on one or more side faces of the light guide member; and a light modulating element provided on the lower face, the upper face, or inside of the light guide member and attached to the light guide member, the light modulating element including a pair of transparent substrates disposed to oppose each other with a gap therebetween, a first electrode provided on a surface of one of the transparent substrates, a second electrode provided on a surface of the other of the transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in the gap of the transparent substrates and expressing a scattering property or a transparency to light from the light source in accordance with a magnitude of an electric field, wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, or both of the first and the second electrodes is patterned, and a density of a pattern of the first electrode, the second electrode, or both of the first and the second electrodes to which the patterning is applied is varied depending on a distance from the light source.