KR102558842B1 - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device according to the present invention includes a display module, a control board, and an interface module. The display module has a first pin. The control board includes a timing controller and a first transmitter. The timing controller generates a first signal for driving the display module. A first transmitter transmits a first signal from the timing controller. The interface module includes a first receiver and a second pin. The first receiving unit receives the first signal from the first transmitting unit. The second pin is in contact with the first pin to supply a signal from the first receiver to the first pin. The interface module is detachably coupled to the display module.

Description

Display device {DISPLAY DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a display device having an interface module detachably coupled to a display module.

Various flat panel display devices that can reduce the weight and volume, which are disadvantages of a cathode ray tube (CRT), are being developed. Examples of such a flat panel display include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organic light emitting display (OLED).

A liquid crystal display device displays an image by controlling an electric field applied to liquid crystal molecules according to a data voltage. Due to the development of process technology and driving technology, liquid crystal display devices are widely used and applied to various display devices ranging from small mobile devices to large-sized televisions as prices are lowered and performance is improved.

In addition, the organic light emitting diode display is a self-emitting display device that excites organic compounds to emit light, and has the advantage of being lightweight and thin as well as simplifying the process because it does not require a backlight used in a liquid crystal display device. The organic light emitting diode display is widely used in that it can be manufactured at a low temperature, has a high response speed of 1 ms or less, and has characteristics such as low power consumption, a wide viewing angle, and high contrast.

Recently, novel display devices having various shapes are attracting attention based on lightening and thinning technology of display devices. For example, novel display devices, such as a wallpaper type display device that is provided so that users can easily attach or detach it from a wall, are being developed.

In order to implement a display device such as a wallpaper, it is necessary to minimize the weight and thickness of a display module itself on which an input image is displayed. However, in the structure of the existing display module, despite the improved weight and thinning technology, there is a limit to reducing the weight and thickness, so the development of a new structure different from the existing structure is required.

In addition, display devices may have different interface methods depending on application fields, and in order to cope with this, there is a problem in that the display module itself needs to be changed. That is, conventionally, since an interface for communication with an external system is built into the display module itself, when the interface method of the external system is changed, the display module itself needs to be changed accordingly. This degrades the compatibility of the display module, and efforts to improve this are required.

The present invention relates to a display device that minimizes the weight and thickness of a display module by separating a timing controller from the display module. In addition, the present invention provides a display device having improved compatibility and user convenience by including an interface module detachably coupled to the display module.

In order to achieve the above object, a display device according to the present invention includes a display module, a control board, and an interface module. The display module has a first pin. The control board includes a timing controller and a first transmitter. The timing controller generates a first signal for driving the display module. A first transmitter transmits a first signal from the timing controller. The interface module includes a first receiver and a second pin. The first receiving unit receives the first signal from the first transmitting unit. The second pin is in contact with the first pin to supply a signal from the first receiver to the first pin. The interface module is detachably coupled to the display module.

Unlike the prior art, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention separates the timing controller and the host system from the outside of the display module. Accordingly, since the preferred embodiment according to the present invention can minimize the weight and thickness of the display module, it can be applied to various types of display devices such as wallpaper type and can be used in various fields.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is sufficient to replace interface modules of various interface methods provided in response to a change in interface method according to conditions, and there is no need to replace the display module itself whenever the interface method is changed. That is, a preferred embodiment of the present invention can flexibly respond to changes in conditions (or external environment) by providing a detachable interface module, thereby providing a display device with improved compatibility and user convenience.

1 is a block diagram showing a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of a control block according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 6 are block diagrams of interface modules according to embodiments of the present invention.
7 are diagrams illustrating a connection relationship between a control board and an interface module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are diagrams showing configurations of a display module and an interface module according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
12 and 13 are diagrams showing the structure of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numbers throughout the specification indicate substantially the same elements. In the following description, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

The names of the components used in the following description are selected in consideration of the ease of writing the specification, and may differ from the names of actual products.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The display device according to the present invention may be implemented based on a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting display (OLED), an electrophoresis display (EPD), a quantum dot display (QDD), and the like. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a case in which the display device is a liquid crystal display device will be described as an example.

The display device of the present invention may be implemented in all known liquid crystal modes such as twisted nematic (TN) mode, vertical alignment (VA) mode, in plane switching (IPS) mode, and fringe field switching (FFS) mode. In addition, the display device of the present invention may be implemented in any form such as a transmissive display device, a transflective display device, or a reflective display device.

Hereinafter, a display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 . 1 is a block diagram showing a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a block diagram of a control block according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 to 6 are block diagrams of interface modules according to embodiments of the present invention. 7 are diagrams illustrating a connection relationship between a control board and an interface module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 4 , a display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a display module 100, a control board 200, and an interface module 300.

The display module 100 includes a display panel PNL and a display panel driving circuit for writing data of an input image on the display panel PNL. A backlight unit may be disposed under the display panel PNL to uniformly radiate light to the display panel PNL.

The display panel PNL may include an upper substrate and a lower substrate facing each other with the liquid crystal cell Clc interposed therebetween. In the display panel PNL, image data is displayed in a pixel array area in which pixels are arranged in a matrix form. The pixel array may include a thin film transistor (TFT) array formed on a lower substrate and a color filter array formed on an upper substrate. In the case of using a color filter on TFT (COT) process, the color filter may be formed on the thin film TFT substrate array of the lower substrate.

The TFT array includes data lines DL and gate lines GL. Pixels may be defined by a cross structure of data lines DL and gate lines GL. A data voltage is applied to the data line DL, and a gate pulse is applied to the gate line GL.

The TFT may be formed at an intersection of the data lines DL and the gate lines GL. The TFT supplies a data voltage from the data line DL to the pixel electrode 1 in response to a gate pulse from the gate line GL. The liquid crystal cells Clc are driven by a voltage difference between the pixel electrode 1 and the common electrode 2 to which a common voltage is applied. A storage capacitor Cst for maintaining the voltage of the liquid crystal cell Clc for a certain period is connected to the liquid crystal cell Clc. Each of the pixels displays an input image by adjusting the transmittance of light using the liquid crystal cells Clc. A polarizing plate may be attached to each of the upper and lower substrates of the display panel PNL, and an alignment layer for forming a pre-tilt angle of liquid crystal may be provided.

The display panel driving circuit writes input image data to pixels. The display panel driving circuit includes a data driver and a gate driver. The data driver includes at least one source drive IC (Integrated Circuit) (10_1, SIC). Source channels of the source drive ICs 10_1 may be connected to data lines DL, respectively. The gate driver includes at least one gate drive IC (10_2, GIC). Gate channels of the gate drive ICs 10_2 may be connected to gate lines GL, respectively. The source drive IC 10_1 and the gate drive IC 10_2 may be mounted on a flexible circuit board such as a COF 125 (FIG. 9) (Chip On Film). One end of the COF 125 may be bonded to one side of the front surface of the lower substrate. The COF 125 may be bent in the rear direction along the edge of the lower substrate, and thus the other end of the COF 125 may be positioned on the rear surface of the lower substrate. The other end of the COF 125 may be bonded to a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 130 . The front side means the side on which the input image is displayed on the display device, and the back side means the opposite side of the front side where the user cannot perceive the displayed input image. The gate drive IC 10_2 may be directly disposed on the bezel area of the display panel PNL according to a gate-driver in panel (GIP) circuit.

The source drive IC 10_1 samples the data of the input image under the control of the timing controller 12 and then latches and converts the data into parallel data system data. The source drive IC 10_1 converts digital video data into an analog gamma compensation voltage using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) under the control of the timing controller 12 to generate a data voltage, and supplies the data voltage to the data lines DL. The gate drive IC 10_2 sequentially supplies gate pulses synchronized with the data voltage from the first gate line GL to the n-th gate line GL under the control of the timing controller 12 .

The control board 200 includes a timing controller 12 and a transmitter 220 . The timing controller 12 transmits the data of the input image received from the host system 14 to the source drive ICs 10_1. The timing controller 12 receives timing signals such as a vertical sync signal (Vsync), a horizontal sync signal (Hsync), a data enable signal (Data Enable, DE), and a main clock (CLK) from the host system 14 . These timing signals are synchronized with the digital video data of the input image. The timing controller 12 generates a source timing control signal for controlling the operation timing of the source driver ICs 10_1 and a gate timing control signal for controlling the operation timing of the gate drive ICs 10_2 using the timing signals Vsync, Hsync, DE, and CLK. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, only the source drive IC 10_1 among the drive ICs 10_1 and 10_2 will be described as an example.

The transmitter 220 transmits data and control signals (hereinafter referred to as 'signals') generated from the timing controller 12 to the interface module 300 to drive the display module 100 .

The host system 14 (Host System, SYSTEM) may be implemented as any one of a television system, a set-top box, a navigation system, a DVD player, a Blu-ray player, a personal computer (PC), a home theater system, and a phone system, but is not limited thereto. The host system 14 converts the digital video data (RGB) of the input image into a format suitable for the display panel (PNL). The host system 14 transmits the timing signals Vsync, Hsync, DE, and MCLK together with the digital video data of the input image to the timing controller 12. The circuit board of the host system 14 may be provided within the control board 200 as needed, or may be provided separately from the control board 200 . That is, the control board 200 may include at least some circuits of the host system 14 .

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention is characterized by separating the timing controller 12 and the host system 14 from the outside of the display module 100 in order to reduce the weight and thickness of the display module 100, unlike the prior art. Since the preferred embodiment according to the present invention can minimize the weight and thickness of the display module 100, it can be applied to various types of display devices such as wallpaper types and used in various fields.

The interface module 300 includes a receiving unit 320 and a processing unit 350 . The interface module 300 electrically connects the control board 200 and the display module 100 . The control board 200 and the display module 100 transmit/receive signals via the interface module 300 . That is, the interface module 300 functions to receive signals from the timing controller 12 of the control board 200 and output them to the display panel driving circuit of the display module 100 .

The receiver 320 receives signals from the transmitter 220 of the control board 200 through a wired/wireless interface. The receiving unit 320 may convert the video data of the input image received from the transmitting unit 220 into a TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic)/LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signal) signal and output the converted signal, but is not limited thereto.

The transmitter 220 of the control board 200 and the receiver 320 of the interface module 300 may transmit/receive signals using either a wired or wireless interface, or may transmit/receive signals using both. For example, further referring to FIG. 7 , the interface module 300 may be connected to the control board 200 through a wireless communication method 305a such as Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) or Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig). Accordingly, there is an effect of improving aesthetics by minimizing external lines exposed to the outside. Also, the interface module 300 may be connected to the control board 200 through a separate cable 305b.

Referring further to FIG. 6 , the processing unit 350 may change the signal input through the receiving unit 320 into a signal format suitable for driving the source drive IC 10_1 and transmit it to the display module 100 . To this end, the processing unit 350 may use an interface protocol that satisfies standard interface regulations. For example, the processing unit 350 may include a transmission signal generating unit 351 (EPI Gen) using an EPI (Embedded Panel Interface) protocol.

The processing unit 350 may further include a high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) authentication unit 353 . When a path through which digital signals are transmitted and received is encrypted (or coded) according to the HDCP standard, the encrypted signal is authenticated and decrypted by the HDCP authentication unit 353. Accordingly, video data of the input image input to the receiver 320 may be converted into decoded normal data and transmitted to the display panel driving circuit of the display module 100 .

The processing unit 350 may further include an AGP (Auto Generated Pattern) generating unit 355 and a signal selecting unit 356 . The AGP generating unit 355 determines whether there is an input signal and/or an effective video signal from the input signal, generates a selection signal, and generates AGP data. The signal selector 356 may transmit the AGP data generated by the AGP generator 355 to the display module 100 when there is no input signal or no valid video signal in the input signal. The transmitted AGP data may be displayed on the pixel array area of the display panel PNL, and the user may recognize the current state through the displayed image.

The processing unit 350 may further include a power generation unit 357 (Power Gen). The power generator 357 generates power and supplies it to the source drive IC 10_1 and/or the display panel PNL. The power generator 357 may be a battery, but is not limited thereto.

Referring further to FIG. 7 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a case in which unidirectional communication is performed from the control board 200 to the display module 100 via the interface module 300, as well as a case in which bidirectional communication is performed between the control board 200 and the display module 100 via the interface module 300. For two-way communication, the interface module 300 may further include a second transmitter for transmitting signals supplied from the display module 100 to the control board 200, and the control board 200 may further include a second receiver for receiving signals from the transmitter of the interface module 300.

For example, in the case of an organic light emitting diode display including a compensation circuit for compensating for non-uniformity in driving characteristics of pixels, bi-directional communication can be performed. In this case, the processing unit 350 may further include a sensing data conversion unit 358 and a sensing data transmission unit 359 . The sensing data conversion unit 358 may perform a function of receiving TFT sensing data serially from the source drive IC 10_1 and converting them into byte unit data. The sensing data transmitter 359 transmits the converted sensing data to the timing controller 12 of the control board 200 . Although not shown in the drawing, the control board 200 may further include a sensing data receiving unit 320 for receiving converted sensing data.

Hereinafter, configurations of the display module and the interface module will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 . 8 to 11 are diagrams showing configurations of a display module and an interface module according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a first link area 101 is defined on at least one surface of the display module 100 . The first link area 101 is preferably defined on the rear surface of the display module 100, which is not recognized by a user viewing the image. A plurality of first link areas 101 may be defined, and each of the plurality of first areas may be defined at a preset position as needed. The first link area 101 is preferably disposed adjacent to the corresponding source drive IC 10_1. At least one first pin 110 is provided in the first link area. An input end of the source drive IC 10_1 is electrically connected to first pins 110 provided in the first link region 101 .

The interface module 300 has a separate housing separated from the display module 100 . Accordingly, the interface module 300 may be detachably coupled to the display module 100 . The housing may have a hexahedral shape, but is not limited thereto, and may have various external shapes as needed.

As described above, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, signal transmission/reception is performed between the display module 100 and the control board 200 via the interface module 300 . Since the intermediary interface module 300 is detachable from and detachable from the display module 100, compatibility can be improved.

More specifically, in the prior art, when the interface method is changed, there is a problem in that the display module itself needs to be replaced so as to correspond thereto. In contrast, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the interface method of the control board 200 is changed, it is sufficient to replace only the interface module 300 corresponding to the changed interface method of the control board 200 .

In other words, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in response to a change in the interface method, it is sufficient to replace the interface modules 300 of various interface methods provided according to conditions, and whenever the interface method is changed, there is no need to replace the display module 100 itself. Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by having the detachable interface module 300, can flexibly respond to changes in conditions (or external environment), thereby providing a display device with improved compatibility and user convenience.

At least one surface of the housing (hereinafter, 'opposite surface of the housing') faces one surface of the interface module 300 provided with the first pin 110 . A second link region 301 is defined on the opposite side of the housing. At least one second pin 310 connected to the first pin 110 is provided in the second link area 301 .

Contact between the first pin 110 and the second pin 310 electrically connects the interface module 300 and the display module 100 and enables transmission/reception of necessary signals. The first pin 110 and the second pin 310 may have various shapes as needed. For example, in order to increase the contact area between the first pin 110 and the second pin 310, one of the first pin 110 and the second pin 310 may be formed as a concave part, and the other may be formed as a convex part.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 , the first link area 101 may be defined on the source PCB 130 . The source PCB 130 may be bonded to the other end of the COF 125 on which the source drive IC 10_1 is mounted. An input terminal of the source drive IC 10_1 and the first pins 110 may be electrically connected through a wire 115 arranged on the source PCB 130 . In this case, both ends of the wire 115 may be respectively connected to the corresponding input terminal of the source drive IC 10_1 and the first pin 110 . An output terminal of the source drive IC 10_1 is connected to corresponding data lines DL (FIG. 1).

The display panel driving circuit of the display module 100 may include at least one source PCB 130, and one source PCB 130 may be bonded to at least one COF 125. When two or more source PCBs 130 are provided, one or more first link regions 101a and 101b may be defined in each of the source PCBs 130 . The first pins 110 provided in the first link regions 101a and 101b on the source PCB 130 are electrically connected to the source drive IC 10_1 on the COF 125 bonded to the corresponding source PCB 130 and can transmit/receive signals. To reduce the thickness, the PCB 130 may be replaced with a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).

At least one second link area 301 is defined in the interface module 300 . As shown in FIG. 10 , when only one second link area 301 is defined in one interface module 300 , the volume and weight of the interface module 300 itself can be relatively reduced. As shown in FIG. 9 , two or more corresponding second link regions 301 may be defined together in one interface module 300 . Accordingly, signals may be transmitted/received with the first pins 110 provided in the two or more first link regions 101 using one interface module 300 . In this case, communication between the control board 200 and the display module 100 may be enabled using a relatively small number of interface modules 300 .

As another example, referring to FIG. 11 , the first link area 101 may be defined on the rear surface of the display module 100 . An input terminal of the source drive IC 10_1 and the first pins 110 may be electrically connected through a wire 115 . The wire 115 may be arranged on the rear surface of the display module 100 so as to be routed from the input terminal of the source drive IC 10_1 to the first pin 110 corresponding thereto. In this case, the other end of the COF 125 may be attached to the rear surface of the display module 100 . For example, the other end of the COF 125 may be directly attached to the rear surface of the display panel PNL, and the input terminal of the source driver IC 10_1 may be connected to the first pin 110 through a wire 115 arranged on the rear surface of the display panel PNL. In this case, since the source PCB 130 can be omitted, the thickness of the display module 100 can be further reduced.

Hereinafter, the structure of a display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 . 12 and 13 are diagrams showing the structure of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring further to FIG. 12 , the display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may further include a back cover 400 . The back cover 400 is attached to the rear surface of the display module 100 . The back cover 400 may reinforce the rigidity of the display module 100 by supporting the rear surface of the display module 100 . The back cover 400 may include a material having high strength.

The back cover 400 includes a hole 410 exposing the first link region 101 so that the second link region 301 of the interface module 300 and the first link region 101 defined in the rear direction of the display module 100 may directly contact each other. That is, the interface module 300 may come into the hole 410 of the back cover 400 and contact the display module 100 .

The shape of the hole 410 preferably corresponds to the shape of the housing that determines the outer shape of the interface module 300 . When the thickness of the back cover 400 and the thickness of the interface module 300 are the same, it is possible to provide a display device with improved aesthetics by providing a clean appearance. As shown, it may be aesthetically desirable for the back cover 400 to have approximately the same area as the display module 100, but is not limited thereto.

Referring further to FIG. 13 , the back cover 400 may perform a function of guiding and supporting the interface module 300 detachably coupled to the display module 100 by being attached to the display module 100 .

For example, one of the housing of the back cover 400 and the interface module 300 may include a guide groove 460 and the other may include a guide portion 360 . The guide groove 460 and the guide portion 360 may be provided on surfaces of the back cover 400 and the interface module 300 facing each other. The interface module 300 (or back cover) having the guide portion 360 may move along the guide groove 460 of the back cover 400 (or interface module). The guide unit 360 and the guide groove 460 may guide the first link area 101 of the display module 100 and the second link area 301 of the interface module 300 to come into contact at an accurate position.

In addition, the back cover 400 can perform a function of fixing the interface module 300 so that the interface module 300 can maintain contact without being separated from the display module 100 while transmitting/receiving signals with the display module 100. That is, although not shown, fastening means (or fixing means) such as hooks and magnets that can prevent separation of the interface module 300 may be further provided in the back cover 400 .

Through the above description, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but should be determined by the claims.

100: display module 200: control board
300: interface module 10_1, 10_2: drive IC
12: timing controller 14: host system
220: first transmitter 320: first receiver
350: processing unit 101: first link area
110: first pin 301: second link area
310: second pin 125: wiring
130: PCB 400: back cover
410: hall

Claims (14)

a display module including a display panel displaying an input image, a first pin exposed to the outside, and a drive IC receiving a first signal for driving the display panel through the first pin;
a control board separated from the display module, including a timing controller generating the first signal for driving the display module, and a first transmitter configured to transmit the first signal; and
an interface module separated from the control board, including a first receiver for receiving the first signal from the first transmitter, a processor for converting the received first signal into a driving format of the drive IC, and a second pin for supplying the first signal exposed to the outside and changed through the processor to the first pin;
The interface module is detachably coupled to the display module,
The display device, wherein the first pin and the second pin contact each other through the interface module and the display module, so that the first signal output from the processing unit is supplied to the first pin. According to claim 1,
The display module,
The display device further comprises a wire connecting the first pin and the drive IC. According to claim 2,
The display module,
a COF (Chip On Film) on which the drive IC is mounted and bonded to the display panel; and
Further comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) bonded to the COF,
The first pin is provided on the PCB. According to claim 2,
The display module,
The drive IC is mounted and further includes a COF bonded to the display panel;
The first pin is provided on a rear surface of the display module. delete According to claim 1,
The processing unit,
The display device further includes a high-bandwith digital content protection (HDCP) authentication unit that converts the encrypted first signal into decrypted normal data. According to claim 1,
The processing unit,
an AGP generating unit that determines whether there is an input signal or whether there is a valid video signal in the input signal, generates a selection signal, and generates AGP (Auto Generated Pattern) data; and
and a signal selector for transmitting the AGP data generated by the AGP generator to a display module when there is no input signal or when there is no valid video signal in the input signal. According to claim 1,
The processing unit,
The display device further comprising a power generation unit generating power and supplying power to the display module. According to claim 1,
The control board and the display module,
A display device capable of bi-directional communication through the interface module. According to claim 9,
The processing unit,
Further comprising a second transmission unit for transmitting a second signal supplied from the display module,
The control board,
The display device further comprising a second receiver for receiving the second signal. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a back cover attached to the rear surface of the display module,
The back cover,
A hole exposing the first pin of the display module;
The interface module,
A display device that is introduced into the hole of the back cover and contacts the display module. According to claim 11,
A guide portion is provided on one of the surfaces of the back cover and the interface module facing each other, and a guide groove is provided on the other side,
The display device of claim 1 , wherein the guide unit is provided to be movable along a guide groove. According to claim 12,
The back cover,
A display device including a fastening means (or fixing means) capable of preventing separation of an interface module. According to claim 1,
The control board,
A display device containing at least some circuitry of a host system.

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