KR20080030759A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device is provided to drive a backlight assembly segmentally by using a light source unit composed of CCFLs(Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps). A display device(100) comprises a display panel(50) and a backlight assembly(70). The display panel displays images. The backlight assembly is segmented into a plurality of domains. Each of the segmented domains independently supplies light to the display panel. The segmented domains are divided into a central region and side regions. In the central region, a plurality of segmented domains are arrayed vertically. The side regions are arranged at both sides of the central region. In each of the side regions, a plurality of segmented domains are arrayed horizontally. The backlight assembly comprises a plurality of light source units(80) which generate light and a housing(75) which accepts the light source units. In each of the segmented domains, one or more light source units are arranged.

Description

Display device {DISPLAY DEVICE}

1 is an exploded perspective view of a display device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of the light source unit of FIG. 1.

3 is a layout view illustrating a modified example of the light source unit of FIG. 1.

4 is an exploded perspective view of a display device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

41, 42: printed circuit board

43, 44: drive integrated circuit chip package

50 display panel 60 support member

70 back light assembly 71 support frame

72: optical sheet 73: inverter circuit board

74 diffuser 75 storage member

78: light source unit holder 80: light source unit

81: linear lamp portion 82: connection lamp portion

85: inverter 89: lamp holder

90: control circuit board

The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device for dividing and driving a backlight assembly.

There are several types of display devices. Among them, a display device having a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel which has a smaller size, a lighter weight, and an improved performance has been established as a representative display device centering on a rapidly developing semiconductor technology.

Display devices having liquid crystal displays have advantages such as miniaturization, light weight, and low power consumption, and thus have been gradually attracting attention as an alternative means of overcoming the disadvantages of conventional cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Nowadays, almost all information processing needs are needed, such as those used in small and medium products such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and portable multimedia players (PMPs) that require display devices, as well as monitors and TVs. It is attached to the apparatus and used. In addition, in recent years, the demand for display devices having high resolution is rapidly increasing.

However, since the liquid crystal display panel displays an image using a characteristic in which transmittance is changed by a voltage applied from the outside, it is difficult to express black by completely blocking light in some cases. Further, because of this, there is a problem of low contrast and unnecessary power consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device in which power consumption is reduced by improving the backlight assembly effectively.

A display device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is divided into a display panel for displaying an image and a plurality of divided regions, and includes a backlight assembly for supplying light to the display panel independently for each divided region, The plurality of divided regions may include a central divided region in which a plurality of divided regions are arranged along a horizontal direction, and side divided regions disposed on opposite sides of the central divided region, and in which a plurality of divided regions are arranged along a vertical direction. It includes.

The backlight assembly may include a plurality of light source units generating light and an accommodation member accommodating the plurality of light source units, and one or more light source units may be disposed in the plurality of divided regions.

The light source unit may include a pair of linear lamp units, a connection lamp unit connecting one end of the pair of linear lamp units to each other, and an inverter connected to the other end of the pair of linear lamp units.

The linear ramp portion of the light source unit disposed in the central divided region and the linear ramp portion of the light source unit disposed in the side divided regions may be arranged in a direction crossing each other.

The inverter of the light source unit disposed in the central divided area may be disposed downward based on a screen displayed by the display panel.

The connection lamp unit of the light source unit disposed in the central divided area may have a smaller diameter than the straight lamp unit.

The divided region belonging to the central divided region may have a length longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction.

The central divided area may be divided into three or more divided areas.

The backlight assembly may further include a lamp holder surrounding a portion of the connection lamp unit and fixedly supporting the light source unit to the accommodation member.

The lamp holder may be made of a translucent material.

Accordingly, the display device can divide and drive the backlight assembly effectively.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings, a liquid crystal display panel is shown as an embodiment of a display panel used in a display device, but this is merely to illustrate the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the display device may use a light receiving type display panel other than the liquid crystal display panel.

In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

In addition, in the various embodiments, components having the same configuration will be representatively described in the first embodiment using the same reference numerals, and in other second embodiments, only the configuration different from the first embodiment will be described. do.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 100 includes a backlight assembly 70 that supplies light and a display panel 50 that receives light and displays an image. In addition, the display device 100 may further include a support member 60 to fix and support the display panel 50 on the backlight assembly 70, and may further include other necessary parts.

In addition, the display device 100 includes a plurality of driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and 44 and printed circuit boards 41 and 42 that are electrically connected to the display panel 50 to transmit driving signals. The driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and 44 may be formed of a chip on film package (COF) or a tape carrier package (TCP).

The driving integrated circuit chip packages include gate driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and data driving integrated circuit chip packages 44. The gate driving integrated circuit chip package 43 is attached to one edge of the display panel 50 to supply a gate signal to the display panel 50. The data driving integrated circuit chip package 44 is attached to the other side of the display panel 50 adjacent to the one side and supplies the other signal including the data signal to the display panel 50.

The backlight assembly 70 includes an accommodating member 75, a light source unit 80 disposed inside the accommodating member 75, a light source unit holder 78, a reflective sheet 79, an optical sheet 72, and a diffusion plate. (74). In addition, the backlight assembly 70 further includes a support frame 71 coupled to the housing member 75 to fix and support the optical sheets 72, the diffusion plate 74, and the like. Here, the support frame 71 also supports the display panel 50 at a predetermined distance from the backlight assembly 70.

The light source unit 80 generates light to be supplied to the display panel 50, and the light source unit holder 78 supports both ends of the light source unit 80 to fix the light source unit 80 in the accommodation member 75. do. The light source unit 80 includes a pair of linear lamp units 81, a connection lamp unit 82 connecting one end of the pair of linear lamp units 81 to each other, and a pair of linear lamp units 81. An inverter 85 (shown in FIG. 2) connected to the other end of the unit. In this case, one or more inverters 85 may be connected to one or more linear lamp units 81. The connecting lamp portion 82 is curved and is formed in a substantially "U" shape. Here, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is used for the light source unit 80.

The reflective sheet 79 is disposed on the bottom surface of the housing member 75 to reflect all the light generated from the light source unit 80 toward the display panel 50. As the light generated by the light source unit 80 is reflected by the reflective sheet, it is further diffused to further improve the uniformity of the light reaching the display panel 50.

The optical sheets 72 and the diffusion plate 74 improve the luminance characteristics and uniformity of the light generated by the light source unit 80 and provide them to the display panel 50. Light emitted from the light source unit 80 is diffused and collected while passing through the optical sheets 72 and the diffusion plate 74 to be spread substantially uniformly and converted into light close to the surface light source.

The support frame 71 is formed of a pair of divided frames. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be formed as an integrated frame.

In addition, an inverter circuit board 73 and a control circuit board 90 are provided on the rear surface of the housing member 75. The inverter circuit board 73 is covered with a protective case 87 having a plurality of heat dissipation holes 871. The control circuit board 90 is also covered with a protective case 92 and is installed to the housing member 75 by screwing.

The inverter circuit board 73 drives the light source unit 80 by transforming external power to a constant voltage level and then applying the same to the light source unit 80. The control circuit board 90 is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 44, and supplies a signal necessary for displaying an image to the display panel 50.

The display panel 50 includes a first display panel 51 and a second display panel 53 disposed to face the first display panel 51 with the liquid crystal layer (not shown) therebetween. The first display panel 51 may be a rear substrate, the second display panel 53 may be a front substrate, and the second display panel 53 may have a smaller size than that of the first display panel 51. Here, the driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and 44 are attached to an edge of the first display panel 51, one side of which is not overlapped with the second display panel 53, and is connected to the display panel 50. In addition, at least one of the driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and 44 is connected to the printed circuit boards 41 and 42 at the other side.

In FIG. 1, all of the driving integrated circuit chip packages 43 and 44 are connected to the printed circuit boards 41 and 42, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The printed circuit board 41 connected to the gate driving integrated circuit chip package 43 may be omitted in some cases. In this case, one side of the gate driving integrated circuit chip package 43 is connected to the display panel 50, and the other side thereof is not connected to anything.

Polarizers 54 and 55 (shown in FIG. 2) are attached to the front surface of the second display panel 53 and the rear surface of the second display panel 51, respectively, to linearly polarize the visible light supplied from the backlight assembly 70.

A plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs), color filters, pixel electrodes, and common electrodes are formed on the first display panel 51 and the second display panel 53. The liquid crystal layer is disposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.

By such a configuration, when the thin film transistor as the switching element is turned on, an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. Such an electric field causes the liquid crystal array angle of the liquid crystal layer disposed between the first display panel 51 and the second display panel 53 to be changed, thereby obtaining a desired image due to the changed light transmittance.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, the arrangement of the light source unit 80 and the division driving of the backlight assembly 70 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the backlight assembly 70 (shown in FIG. 1) is divided into a plurality of divided regions N1 and N2, and is independently driven for each divided region N1 and N2 to display the display panel ( 50) to supply light.

The plurality of divided regions N1 and N2 are disposed in the central divided region N1 in which the plurality of divided regions are arranged along the horizontal direction, and on both sides of the central divided region N1 facing each other, and in the vertical direction. It includes the side partition region N2 in which the partition regions are arranged. Here, the divided region belonging to the central divided region N1 has a length longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction. The central divided area N1 includes three or more divided areas.

In addition, at least one light source unit 80 is disposed in each of the divided regions N1 and N2. In addition, one or more inverters 85 are independently disposed in each of the divided regions N1 and N2 to separately drive the light source unit 80 disposed in each of the divided regions N1 and N2. That is, the brightness of the luminance may be adjusted for each of the divided regions N1 and N2 according to the average brightness information of the image corresponding to the divided regions N1 and N2. As a result, power consumption of the display device 100 (shown in FIG. 1) may be reduced.

By such a configuration, the backlight assembly 70 may implement the split driving more effectively by using the light source unit 80 formed of the cold cathode tube lamp. In particular, the divided regions N1 and N2 are divided into a central divided region N1 and a side divided region N2, and the central divided region N1 is divided into horizontal segments to divide the divided regions N1 and N2. More central adjustments can be made. This effect can be realized by including three or more central divided regions N1 divided in the horizontal direction.

In addition, the inverter 85 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the central divided area N1 is disposed downward based on the screen displayed by the display panel 50. Thus, heat generated from the inverter 85 can be effectively radiated and controlled.

In addition, the straight ramp portion 81 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the central divided region N1 and the straight ramp portion 81 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the side divided region N2 cross each other. Is arranged. That is, the connection lamp portion 82 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the side divided region N2 is disposed near the straight lamp portion 81 disposed in the central divided region N1.

Since the position where the connection lamp unit 82 is formed is higher than that of other positions, luminance is concentrated, and bright lines and dark lines are generated so that the backlight assembly 70 supplies stained light. However, when the connection lamp portion 82 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the side divided region N2 is disposed close to the straight lamp portion 81 disposed in the central divided region N1, the linear lamp portion 81 is disposed. By concentrating light by the connection lamp unit 82, it is possible to suppress generation of spotted light.

A modification of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting lamp portion 83 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the central divided region N1 is formed of a tube thinner than the straight lamp portion 81 or substantially does not emit light. Only a function of electrically connecting the pair of straight ramp units 81 is performed.

By such a configuration, the backlight assembly 70 can generate light of uniform brightness by suppressing the concentration of light on the connection lamp unit 83 of the light source unit 80 disposed in the central divided region N1. have.

A display device 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 200 surrounds a part of the connection lamp unit 82 of the light source unit 80 to fix the light source unit 80 to the storage member 75. It further includes. At this time, the lamp holder 89 is made of a translucent material.

In this way, the lamp holder 89 formed of a translucent material serves to reduce the brightness of the light generated from the connection lamp unit 82. Therefore, the concentration of brightness can be suppressed by the connection lamp unit 82.

Although the present invention has been described above, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims set out below.

As described above, according to the present invention, the display device may be improved to effectively divide and drive the backlight assembly, thereby reducing power consumption. That is, the split driving can be implemented more effectively using the light source unit formed of the cold cathode tube lamp. In particular, by dividing the divided area into a central divided area and a side divided area N2, and dividing the central divided area into a horizontal direction, the center area of the screen, which is the user's main area of interest, can be finely adjusted.

In addition, the inverter of the light source unit disposed in the central divided area may be disposed downward in relation to the screen displayed by the display panel, thereby effectively dissipating and controlling heat generated by the inverter.

In addition, the linear lamp portion of the light source unit disposed in the center divided region and the linear lamp portion of the light source unit disposed in the side divided region are arranged in the direction crossing each other so that the luminance is increased by the connection lamp portion of the light source unit disposed in the side divided region. It is possible to alleviate the concentration of the straight ramp portion arranged in the central divided area.

In addition, the connecting lamp portion of the light source unit disposed in the central divided region is formed of a tube thinner than the linear lamp portion, or by performing only a function of electrically connecting a pair of linear lamp portions without substantially emitting light, thereby providing a central divided region. By suppressing the concentration of light in the connection lamp unit of the light source unit disposed in the backlight assembly may generate light of uniform brightness.

In addition, by using a lamp holder formed of a translucent material to partially wrap the connecting lamp, it is possible to reduce the brightness of light generated from the connecting lamp. As a result, it is possible to suppress the concentration of luminance by the connection lamp unit.

Claims (10)

A display panel displaying an image and A backlight assembly which is divided into a plurality of divided regions and supplies light to the display panel independently of each divided region Including; The plurality of partitions, A central partition in which a plurality of partitions are arranged along the horizontal direction, Side partitioned areas disposed on both sides of the central partitioned area opposite to each other, in which a plurality of partitioned areas are arranged along the longitudinal direction Display device comprising a. In claim 1, The backlight assembly includes a plurality of light source units generating light and an accommodation member accommodating the plurality of light source units, And at least one light source unit in each of the plurality of divided regions. In claim 2, The light source unit, With a pair of straight ramps, A connection lamp unit connecting one end of the pair of linear lamp units to each other; An inverter connected to the other end of the pair of straight ramp parts Display device comprising a. In claim 3, And a straight ramp portion of the light source unit disposed in the central division area and a straight ramp portion of the light source unit disposed in the side division area in a direction crossing each other. In claim 3, And an inverter of the light source unit disposed in the central divided area is disposed downward based on a screen displayed by the display panel. In claim 3, And a connecting lamp portion of the light source unit disposed in the central divided area has a smaller diameter than that of the linear lamp portion. In claim 1, A display device in which the divided region belonging to the central divided region is longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction. In claim 1, The central divided area is divided into three or more divided areas. In claim 1, The backlight assembly further includes a lamp holder surrounding a portion of the connection lamp unit and fixedly supporting the light source unit to the accommodation member. In claim 9, The lamp holder is made of a translucent material.

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