Patent Application
20080252808
This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0067490 filed on Jul. 19, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly and a liquid crystal display having the same, and more particularly, to a backlight assembly having an increased receiving space for receiving a printed circuit board, and a liquid crystal display having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays are one of the most commonly used flat panel displays. Liquid crystal displays, which include two panels having a plurality of electrodes arranged thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two panels, control the transmittance of incident light by applying voltages to the electrodes to rearrange liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer.
A backlight assembly is disposed below a liquid crystal display panel to supply the liquid crystal display panel with light and a printed circuit board (PCB) is attached to one side of the liquid crystal display panel to drive the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel is disposed above the backlight assembly and received in a top chassis.
The top chassis covers the edges of the liquid crystal display panel and surrounds lateral surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight assembly. A predetermined gap is created between the backlight assembly and the top chassis and the PCB is accommodated in a space corresponding to the gap. Here, the dimensions of the space accommodating the PCB depend upon the height of a driving chip mounted on the PCB. Accordingly, the gap between the backlight assembly and the top chassis should be greater than the sum of the thickness of the PCB and the height of the driving chip. However, as the gap between the backlight assembly and the top chassis increases, although a display area remains the same size, a liquid crystal display may become unnecessarily bulky. In particular, in a case where one frame image is formed based on, for example, a tiled monitor type liquid crystal display in which a plurality of liquid crystal display panels are arranged adjacent to one another, a view may be dissatisfied with image quality due to a variance in the non-display area of the entire liquid crystal display, which may be caused by a relatively large distance between the displays of liquid crystal display panel.
The present invention provides a backlight assembly which can reduce the dimension of a non-display area.
The present invention also provides a liquid crystal display having a non-display area with reduced dimension.
These and other objects of the present invention will be described in or be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backlight assembly including a light source, and a first mold receiving the light source and having the shape of an open window frame, wherein in at least one side portion, an external surface of a side wall of the first mold has at least one reverse-inclined surface extending downwardly at an angle toward the interior side of the side wall.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backlight assembly including a light source, and a first mold receiving the light source and having the shape of an open window frame, wherein in at least one side portion, an external surface of a side wall of the first mold has an undercut surface that is cut inwardly from its outermost surface.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backlight assembly including a light source, a first mold receiving the light source and having the shape of an open window frame, wherein the first mold includes a side wall, an upper surface connected to the side wall, a sloping surface that extends from the upper surface and is inclined downwardly toward the interior side of the side wall, and a bottom surface that is opened in at least one side portion, and a bottom chassis disposed under the light source and receiving a reflection sheet, wherein the reflection sheet extends from the opened bottom surface of the first mold and inserted between the side wall of the first mold and the sloping surface of the first mold.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal display panel assembly including a liquid crystal display panel, a data tape carrier package (TCP) attached to at least one side portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and a printed circuit board (PCB) which is attached to the data TCP and on which at least one driver chip is mounted, a backlight assembly including a light source providing the liquid crystal display panel with light, and a first mold receiving the light source and having the shape of an open window frame, wherein in at least one side portion, an external surface of a side wall of the first mold has at least one reverse-inclined surface extending downwardly at an angle toward interior side of the side wall, and a top chassis covering edges of the liquid crystal display panel and surrounding lateral surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight assembly, wherein the PCB is received in a space defined by a reverse-inclined surface of the first mold in the at least one side portion and the top chassis.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal display panel assembly including a liquid crystal display panel, a data tape carrier package (TCP) attached to at least one side portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and a printed circuit board (PCB) which is attached to the data TCP and on which at least one driver chip is mounted, a backlight assembly including a light source providing the liquid crystal display panel with light, and a first mold receiving the light source and having the shape of an open window frame, wherein in at least one side portion, an external surface of a side wall of the first mold has a first undercut surface that is cut inwardly from its outermost surface, and a top chassis covering edges of the liquid crystal display panel and surrounding lateral surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight assembly, wherein the PCB is received in a space defined by the first undercut surface of the first mold in the at least one side portion and the top chassis.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal display panel assembly including a liquid crystal display panel, a data tape carrier package (TCP) attached to at least one side portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and a printed circuit board (PCB) which is attached to the data TCP and on which at least one driver chip is mounted, a backlight assembly including a light source providing the liquid crystal display panel with light, a first mold including a side wall, an upper surface connected to the side wall, a sloping surface that extends from the upper surface and is inclined downwardly toward the interior side of the side wall, and a bottom surface that is opened in at least one side portion, a bottom chassis disposed under the light source and receiving a reflection sheet, wherein the bottom chassis is inserted between the side wall of the first mold and the sloping surface of the first mold, and a top chassis covering edges of the liquid crystal display panel and surrounding lateral surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight assembly.
The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be defined by the appended claims. In addition, in the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity.
In the following description, it will be understood that when an element or a layer is referred to as being “on” another element or layer, it can be directly on the other element or layer, or intervening layers or elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. The terms “and/or” comprises each and at least one combination of referenced items.
Spatially relative terms, such as “below”, “beneath”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
The present invention will be described with reference to perspective views, cross-sectional views, and/or plan views, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. Thus, the profile of an exemplary view may be modified according to manufacturing techniques and/or allowances. That is, the embodiments of the invention are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but cover all changes and modifications that can be caused due to a change in manufacturing process. For example, while an etched region is illustrated as a rectangular shape, it may be rounded or have a predetermined curvature. Thus, regions shown in the drawings are illustrated in schematic form and the shapes of the regions are presented simply by way of illustration and not as a limitation.
Thin film transistor (TFT) substrates according to embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The LCD panel assembly 100 includes a LCD panel 110 having a first substrate 111, a second substrate 112, and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) formed between the first substrate 111 and the second substrate 112; a data TCP 130 attached to the first side portion of the LCD panel 110, and a PCB 140 attached to the data TCP 130. A data driver integrated circuit (IC) 135 is mounted on the data TCP 130 and at least one driver chip (see 141 of
The backlight assembly 500 includes a light source 210, a reflection sheet 220 reflecting light emitted from the light source 210, and an optical plate 230 and an optical sheet layer 240 adjusting optical characteristics of the emitted light.
The light source 210 may be, but is not limited to, a linear light source such as a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), a hot cathode fluorescent lamp (HCFL), or an external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL), a point light source such as a light emitting diode (LED), and any other type of light source, so long as it can provide the LCD panel assembly 100 with light. In the following examples, the invention is described with regard to the light source 210 using a linear light source as an example, and a plurality of light sources arranged in parallel with each other are illustrated.
The reflection sheet 220 is disposed below the light source 210 and reflects light upward from below the light source 210.
The optical plate 230 and the optical sheet layer 240 are disposed above the light source 210. The optical plate 230 diffuses the light incident from the light source 210. The optical sheet layer 240 propagates, polarizes or focuses the incident light. The optical sheet layer 240 may be formed of a combination of two or more optical sheets having the functions stated previously, for example, a diffusion sheet, a prism sheet, or the like. If necessary, the optical sheet layer 240 may further include a protective sheet.
The backlight assembly 500 includes a bottom chassis 250, a first mold 300, and a second mold 400. The bottom chassis 250 receives or accommodates the light source 210, the reflection sheet 220, the optical plate 230 and the optical sheet layer 240.
The reflection sheet 220 is received by the bottom chassis 250 and the light source 210 is disposed on the bottom surface of the bottom chassis 250. The reflection sheet 220 has a substantially rectangular shape. The optical plate 230 and the optical sheet layer 240 are housed inside an internal space defined by the first mold 300 and the second mold 400. The LCD panel assembly 100 is disposed over the second mold 400.
The first mold 300 includes a third and a fourth side portion 330 and 340 for receiving the light source 210, and a first and a second side portion 310 and 320, which are not associated with receiving of the light source 210. The first through fourth side portions 310 through 340 are integrally connected to each other. In other words, the first mold 300 is formed as a single piece frame having an open window at the center. Since the first mold 300 is formed as the single piece frame, it can be assembled in a simplified manner and the backlight assembly 500 shows increased resistance against external shock. The first mold 300 may be formed by injection molding a resin or the like.
The second mold 400 is disposed above the first mold 300. Like the first mold 300, the second mold 400 includes first through fourth side portions 410 through 440. The second mold 400 is also formed as a single piece frame having an open window at the center.
The top chassis 600 covers the edges of the LCD panel 110 and surrounds lateral surfaces of the LCD panel 110 and the backlight assembly 500. The top chassis 600 may be combined with at least one selected from the bottom chassis 250, the first mold 300, and the second mold 400 by, but not limited to, a hook or screw connection method.
Next, the liquid crystal display will be described in greater detail with regard to the connecting and receiving relationship of the respective side portions.
As shown in
The reflection sheet 220 is disposed on the bottom surface of the bottom chassis 250. One end of the reflection sheet 220 extends between the sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300.
The first side portion 310 in the first mold 300 includes an upper surface 3101, the sloping surface 3102 and the side wall 3103. The upper surface 3101 of the first mold 300 supports the optical plate 230 and the optical sheet layer 240. The sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300 is inclined downwardly from the upper surface 3101. The lower end of the sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300 presses on reflection sheet 220, thereby helping to prevent movement of the reflection sheet 220. The sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300 may serve to reflect light emitted from the light source 210. To this end, the first mold 300 may be made of a resin having a good reflective property. Alternatively, a reflective material may be applied to the sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300. To provide sufficient reflection efficiency, the sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 300 may be inclined at an angle (⊖1) of 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to the bottom surface of the bottom chassis 250.
The internal surface of the side wall 3103 of the first mold 300 is formed in a vertical position. The external surface of the side wall 3103 of the first mold 300 consists of a horizontal base plane 3103a that protrudes from the external surface in a horizontal direction, and a reverse-inclined surface 3103b extending downwardly from the upper surface 3101 at an angle toward the interior side of the first mold 300. The horizontal base plane 3103a protrudes outwards past the external surface of the upper surface 3101. The bottom side of the first mold 310 is opened and an empty space is formed in an area defined by the sloping surface 3102, the upper surface 3101 and the side wall 3103.
The first side portion 410 in the second mold 400 is placed on the horizontal base plane 3103a of the first side portion 310 in the first mold. The first side portion 410 in the second mold 400 includes a supporting portion 4101 protruding inwards to cover the optical plate 230 and/or the optical sheet layer 240 and supporting the LCD panel 110. The outermost surface of the first side portion 410 protrudes past the outermost surface of the side wall 3103 of the first mold, for example, past an end of the horizontal base plane 3103a. In addition, the external surface of the first side portion 410 in the second mold 400 has an undercut surface 4102, which is indented with respect to the outermost surface of the second mold 400. That is, the external surface of the first side portion 410 has an indented step.
The top chassis 600 covers the edges of the LCD panel 110 and surrounds lateral surfaces of the respective first side portions 310 and 410 of the first and second molds 300 and 400, respectively. The side wall of the top chassis 600 is disposed in close proximity to the outermost surface of the first side portion 410 in the second mold 400 and is separated from the outermost surface of the first side portion 410 by a space through which the data TCP 130 can pass. Accordingly, a space is created between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the undercut surface 4102 formed on the first side portion 410 of the second mold 400. This space corresponds to a receiving space for receiving the data driver IC 135. A space created between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the reverse-inclined surface 3103b corresponds to a receiving space for receiving the PCB 140.
In more detail, the data TCP 130 and the PCB 140 attached to the first side portion of the LCD panel 110 are bent to the first side portions 310 and 410 of the first and second molds 300 and 400, respectively, and then combined with the top chassis 600, thereby forming the receiving space for receiving the data driver IC 135 between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the undercut surface 4102 formed on the first side portion 410 of the second mold 400, and the receiving space for receiving the PCB 140 between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the reverse-inclined surface 3103b. Here, the vertical cross section of the receiving space between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the reverse-inclined surface 3103b of the side wall 3103 of the first side portion 310 in the first mold, has the shape of a trapezoid having a width increasing in the downward direction. Meanwhile, connection wires (not shown) are primarily arranged on an interface area between the PCB 140 and the data TCP 130 and driver chips 141 are mounted on an area far from the interface area between the PCB 140 and the data TCP 130 and driver chips 141. Accordingly, the driver chips 141 of the PCB 140 would be positioned on the relatively wide end of the trapezoidal area while the connection wires would be positioned on the narrow end of the trapezoidal area. In such a manner, utilization of the receiving space can be maximized.
That is to say, the bottom surface of the PCB 140 is disposed on the reverse-inclined surface 3103b of the side wall 3103 of the first side portion 310 in the first mold 300 while the driver chips 141 are positioned on the relatively wide area. In this case, the upper surface of each of the driver chips 141 contributes less to the width of the side wall of the top chassis 600 than in the case where the PCB 140 is disposed in a vertical position. As such, the side wall of the top chassis 600 can be made narrower. As a result, the dimension d1 of the top surface of the top chassis 600, which is not associated with displaying an image, is reduced. In addition, since the data driver IC 135 protruding from the data TCP 130 is accommodated in the space between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the undercut surface 4102 formed on the first side portion 410 of the second mold 400, the dimension d1 of the top surface of the top chassis 600 is further reduced or can be maintained at the same level.
If the dimension d1 of the top surface of the top chassis 600 is reduced, a ratio of the display area to the overall screen display area of the liquid crystal display 700 increases, thereby realizing a relatively large-screen display image in a liquid crystal display of the same dimensions. In a case where a plurality of LCD panels are arranged adjacent to each other to construct a tiled monitor liquid crystal display, a variance in the non-display area between each of the respective LCD panels is reduced, thereby achieving a further enhanced image quality.
In more detail, the third side portion 330 in the first mold 300 includes an upper surface 3301, a sloping surface 3302 inclined downwardly from the upper surface 3301, and a side wall 3303. Since the light source 210 is received in the third side portion 330, it is not necessary to separately provide a reflection plane in an area where the light source 210 is received. Thus, a vertical plane 3307 is disposed in the area where the light source 210 is received. The sloping surface 3302 extends upwardly from the vertical plane 3307. In addition, the sloping surface 3302 is vertical to the long axis of the light source 210, which means that an amount of light directly incident from the light source 210 is small. Thus, a downward inclination angle (⊖2) of the sloping portion 3302 does not need to be gentle, unlike in the first side portion 310. Meanwhile, the greater the downward inclination angle ⊖2 of the sloping portion 3302 with respect to the bottom chassis 250, the narrower the distance between the side wall of the bottom chassis 250 and the vertical plane 3307. This is advantageous in acquiring an exposure area of the light source 210. Therefore, the sloping portion 3302 is preferably inclined with respect to the bottom chassis 250 at a relatively large downward inclination angle ⊖2 within a range in which reflection efficiency is not unduly declined, for example, in a range of about 60 degrees to about 80 degrees.
Additionally, since the shape of the third side portion 430 in the second mold 400 including a supporting portion 4301, and the shapes of the external surface of a side wall 3303 of the third side portions 330 in the first mold 330 are substantially the same as those of the second side portion, explanations thereof will not be given. Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawings, a fourth side portion may also be formed to be symmetrical with the third side portion.
Next, liquid crystal displays according to other embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following, the invention will be described with regard to cross sections of characteristic side portions of the liquid crystal displays. The side portions which are not specifically discussed in the following exemplified embodiments are substantially the same as those shown in the first embodiment. However, the invention is not limited to the illustrated example and it is to be understood that a combination of the illustrated side portions can be applied to the invention. In the following embodiments, in each case where structures the same as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, overlapping descriptions will be omitted or simplified.
Referring to
A space created between the side wall of the top chassis 600 and the undercut surface 4102 formed on the second mold 410 corresponds to a receiving space for receiving a data driver IC 135. A space created between the undercut surface 3113b of the first mold 311 and the side wall of the top chassis 600 corresponds to a receiving space for receiving the PCB 140. The lower end of the PCB 140 is disposed on the undercut surface 3113b of the first mold 311. Accordingly, the current embodiment provides a wider receiving space to the PCB 140 than the first embodiment. In particular, even when the driver chips 141 are mounted on an interface area between the PCB 140 and the data TCP 130, the invention can be advantageously applied because the dimension of the receiving space is the same irrespective of the position, at either the upper end or the lower end of the receiving space.
Referring to
Referring to
As a modified example of the present embodiment, unlike in the first through third embodiments of the present invention in each of which the lower space of the first mold is not filled with a resin material, a locking slot may be formed at a lower end of the side wall, thereby enabling the first mold to be locked from the bottom surface of the bottom chassis by means of, e.g., a screw.
Referring to
While the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated with regard to a reflection sheet having a flat surface without a refractive plane, the reflection sheet being inserted into a lower portion of a sloping surface of the first mold and pressurized by the sloping surface of the first mold, the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. A reflection sheet 221 may be bent along the sloping surface 3102 and the reflection sheet 221 may cover the sloping surface 3102 of the first mold 310. An example of is illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
As described above, according to the present invention, since the dimensions of a top surface of a top chassis, which is not associated with displaying of an image, are reduced, receiving spaces of a data driver IC and a PCB can be maximized. Accordingly, a ratio of the display area to the overall screen display area of a liquid crystal display increases, and the dimensions of a non-display area are reduced. Thus, although a display area has the same dimensions, a relatively large-screen display image can be obtained. In addition, since the invention can be applied to a case where a plurality of LCD panels are arranged adjacent to each other to construct a tiled monitor liquid crystal display, a variance in the non-display area between each of the respective LCD panels is reduced, thereby achieving satisfactory image quality.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2006-0067490 | Jul 2006 | KR | national |
