Abstract:
A seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels connected side by side is disclosed. A backlight module disposed under the panels emits a light and perpendicularly transmits the light onto the panels. The region between two adjacent panels is invisible without any light passing therethrough. A light-pervious hollow tube is disposed above a joint section of the two adjacent panels and a protection glass is provided over the light-pervious hollow tube. In such a way, the invisible region is eliminated from the protection glass by twice refraction occurring at the outer and inner sides of the light-pervious hollow tube.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels, and more particularly, to a display apparatus having a plurality of panels, in which there is no invisible region between any two neighboring panels. 
         [0003]    2. The Prior Arts 
         [0004]    Electronic display boards are often used for public advertising purpose. Accordingly, large area LCD apparatuses are now highly demanded in the market. However, restricted by many factors, large area panels are usually manufactured with a high production cost and a low yield. As such, an alternative solution is proposed to obtain a large size panel by arranging a plurality of small size panels side by side. 
         [0005]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , it illustrates a display structure of a conventional seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. The display structure includes a backlight module  7 , a first LCD panel  51 , a second LCD panel  53 , a first concave lens  3 , a second concave lens  5 , and a protective glass  10 . The protective glass  10  is positioned at a topmost side of the display structure, and the backlight module  7  is positioned at a bottommost side of the display structure. The first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53  are disposed over the backlight module  7 . The first concave lens  3  is disposed positionally corresponding to and parallel with the first LCD panel  51 , and the second concave lens  5  is positionally disposed corresponding to and parallel with the second LCD panel  53 . With respect to the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 , there is an invisible region  55 . The first concave lens  3  is positioned over the backlight module  7  and under the protective glass  10 . The protective glass  10  includes an image-presenting region S. The image-presenting region S is positioned corresponding to an invisible region  55 . 
         [0006]    The backlight module  7  provides an incident light. The incident light is transmitted through the first LCD panel  51  and reaches the first concave lens  3 . According to the Snell&#39;s refraction law, the incident light provided to the first concave lens  3  is diverged thereby, and the light outputted from the first concave lens  3  then enters the image-presenting region S of the protective glass  10 . Similarly, the incident light is transmitted through the second LCD panel  53  and reaches the second concave lens  5 , and is diverged thereby, and the light outputted from the second concave lens  5  then enters the image-presenting region S of the protective glass  10 . 
         [0007]    Unfortunately, the concave lenses employed in the conventional display apparatus are very expansive and restricted for single size LCD panels. When larger LCD panels are used, the concave lens must be correspondingly larger. Further, the collimation accuracy between the concave lenses and corresponding LCD panels seriously affect the performance of the display apparatus. When strict criteria for assembly tolerance are applied, the production cost will be high, when less strict criteria are applied, the elimination of the invisible region may be adversely affected. 
         [0008]    As such, a seamless display device which is cheaper, and has an eliminated invisible region is desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. The method includes: securing a light-pervious hollow tube under a protective glass, and collimating the light-pervious hollow tube with a joint section of two adjacent LCD panels positioned thereunder. Therefore, the incident light emitted from the backlight module under the LCD panels is twice refracted by an outer side surface and an inner side surface of the light-pervious hollow tube respectively, by which the invisible region is eliminated from the light-outputting surface of the protective glass. 
         [0010]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. The method includes: filling a certain material into a light-pervious hollow tube, securing the light-pervious hollow tube under a protective glass, and collimating the light-pervious hollow tube with a joint section of two adjacent LCD panels positioned thereunder. Therefore, the incident light emitted from the backlight module under the LCD panels is twice refracted by an outer side surface and an inner side surface of the light-pervious hollow tube respectively, by which the invisible region is eliminated from the light-outputting surface of the protective glass. 
         [0011]    A further objective of the present invention is to provide a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. The seamless display apparatus includes a light-pervious hollow tube. The outer cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube for example is triangle shaped, trapezoid shaped, or other polygon shaped, and the inner cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube for example is triangle shaped, trapezoid shaped, or other polygon shaped. The outer cross-section and the inner cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube may be adaptively selected in accordance with the practical application. 
         [0012]    A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. The seamless display apparatus includes a light-pervious hollow tube. The light-pervious hollow tube is filled up with a certain material having a refractive index different from the refractive index of air. Facilitated with the specifically designed outer cross-section and inner cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube, the light-pervious hollow tube is adapted for deflecting the incident light to perpendicularly enter the image-presenting region of the protective glass, thus achieving a visual seamless effect. 
         [0013]    In summary, the present invention provides a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels and a method for fabricating the same for eliminating the invisible region from the panels. The present invention is adapted for saving production cost, and is convenient for assembly. The present invention if further adapted for producing display apparatuses of a variety of sizes, and is also adapted for mass production of large area display apparatuses. In such a way, the present invention can also be applied for customizing electronic boards. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating the display structure of a conventional seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates the structure of a seamless display apparatus according to a first embodiment and a third embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates the structure of a seamless display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates the structure of the seamless display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a structure of the display apparatus. The structure includes a protective glass  10 , a light-pervious hollow tube  30 , a first LCD panel  51 , a second LCD panel  53 , and a backlight module  7 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53  are positioned over the backlight module  7 . There exists an invisible region  55  between the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 . The invisible region  55  has a width W. The protective glass  10  includes an image-presenting region S corresponding to the invisible region  55 . It should be noted that the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53  are exemplified for illustration of the present invention, while other kinds of panels are applicable for substitution. 
         [0020]    The light-pervious hollow tube  30  is disposed over the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 . The light-pervious hollow tube  30  for example is made of glass or light-pervious plastic. The light-pervious hollow tube  30  is hollow inside which defines an inner vacant space inside the light-pervious hollow tube  30 . The protective glass  10  is positioned over the light-pervious hollow tube  30 . The light-pervious hollow tube  30  is longitudinally disposed along a joint section between the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53  and has an outer cross-section, and an inner cross-section. The outer cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  for example is triangle shaped and has a first outer side  31 , a second outer side  33 , and a third outer side  35 . The inner cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  for example is also triangle shaped and has a first inner side  31 A, a second inner side  33 A, and a third inner side  35 A. Preferably, the first outer side  31  is parallel with the first inner side  31 A, the second outer side  33  is parallel with the second inner side  33 A, and the third outer side  35  is parallel with the third inner side  35 A. The triangle shape of the outer cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  includes a first outer angle  30 A collimated to the invisible region  55 . The third outer side  35  of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  is positioned approximate the bottom surface of the protective glass  10 . 
         [0021]    The backlight module  7  provides an incident light D. The incident light D is transmitted through the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 , and is then propagated toward the protective glass  10 , the first outer side  31  and the second outer side  33  along a first direction D 1 . When the incident light reaches the first outer side  31 , because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium outside the light-pervious hollow tube  30  (typically air) and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , in accordance with the Snell&#39;s refraction law, the incident light is caused with a first time refraction at the first outer side  31 , and the incident light is changed from the first direction D 1  to a second direction D 2  for further transmitting. 
         [0022]    When the incident light along the second direction D 2  is transmitted to the first inner side  31 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium filled in the inner vacant space and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , the incident light is caused with a second time refraction at the first inner side  31 A, and the incident light is changed from the second direction D 2  to a third direction D 3  for further transmitting. After being twice refracted, the incident light transmitted along the third direction D 3 , and the third direction D 3  is perpendicular with the third inner side  35 A and the protective glass  10 . In such a way, the incident light can be perpendicularly transmitted through the third inner side  35 A and the third outer side  35 , as well the protective glass  10 . In this embodiment, it should be noted that the included angle between the first direction D 1  and the first outer side  31 , and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  should be adaptively fine tuned, so as to guarantee that the third direction D 3  is perpendicular with the protective glass  10  and the incident light is perpendicularly transmitted to the image-presenting region S of the protective glass  10 . 
         [0023]    Similarly, when the incident light is transmitted along the first direction D 1  to the second outer side  33 , because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium outside the light-pervious hollow tube  30  (typically air) and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , in accordance with the Snell&#39;s refraction law, the incident light is caused with a first time refraction at the second outer side  33 , and the incident light is changed from the first direction D 1  to a second direction D 4  for further transmitting. When the incident light is transmitted along the second direction D 4  to the second inner side  33 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium filled in the inner vacant space of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , the incident light is caused with a second time refraction at the second inner side  33 A, and the incident light is changed from the second direction D 4  to a third direction D 5  for further transmitting. The subsequent transmission of the incident light is similar to what is discussed above, and can be learnt by referring to the foregoing discussion, and is not to be iterated hereby. 
         [0024]    According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the refractive index of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  is adaptively selected so as to control the incident light incident thereto to be twice refracted by the outer wall and inner wall of the light-pervious hollow tube respectively. The twice refracted incident light is then transmitted along a third direction D 5  to the image-presenting region S of the protective glass. In such a way, the viewer won&#39;t visually feel the existence of the invisible region. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  illustrates the structure of the seamless display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a structure of the display apparatus. The structure includes a protective glass  10 , a light-pervious hollow tube  30 , a first LCD panel  51 , a second LCD panel  53 , and a backlight module  7 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53  are positioned over the backlight module  7 . There exists an invisible region  55  between the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 . The invisible region  55  has a width W. The protective glass  10  includes an image-presenting region S projectively corresponding to the invisible region  55 . 
         [0026]    The light-pervious hollow tube  30  is disposed over the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 . The light-pervious hollow tube  30  is hollow inside which defines an inner vacant space inside the light-pervious hollow tube  30 . The protective glass  10  is positioned over the light-pervious hollow tube  30 . An outer cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  for example is trapezoid shaped and has a first outer side  61 A, a second outer side  63 A, a third outer side  65 A, and a fourth outer side  67 A. An inner cross-section of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  is triangle shaped and has a first inner side  31 A, a second inner side  33 A, and a third inner side  35 A. The first outer side  61 A is unparallel or parallel with the first inner side  31 A, the second outer side  63 A is unparallel or parallel with the second inner side  33 A, and the third outer side  65 A is parallel with the third inner side  35 A. The fourth outer side  67 A is parallel with the third outer side  65 A and the third inner side  35 A, and is proximate to and projectively corresponding to the invisible region  55 . The third outer side  65 A of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  is positioned approximate the bottom surface of the protective glass  10 . 
         [0027]    The backlight module  7  provides an incident light D. The incident light D is transmitted through the first LCD panel  51  and the second LCD panel  53 , and is then propagated along a first direction D 1  toward the protective glass  10 , the first outer side  61 A and the second outer side  63 A. When the incident light reaches the first outer side  61 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium outside the light-pervious hollow tube  30  (typically air) and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , in accordance with the Snell&#39;s refraction law, the incident light is caused with a first time refraction at the first outer side  61 A, and the incident light is changed from the first direction D 1  to a second direction D 22  for further transmitting. 
         [0028]    When the incident light along the second direction D 22  is transmitted to the first inner side  31 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium filled in the inner vacant space of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , the incident light is caused with a second time refraction at the first inner side  31 A, and the incident light is changed from the second direction D 22  to a third direction D 33  for further transmitting. After being twice refracted, the incident light transmitted along the third direction D 33 , and the third direction D 3  is maintained perpendicular with the third inner side  35 A and the protective glass  10 . In such a way, the incident light can be perpendicularly transmitted through the third inner side  35 A and the third outer side  35 , as well the protective glass  10 . In this embodiment, it should be noted that the included angle between the first direction D 1  and the first outer side  61 A, and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  should be adaptively fine tuned, so as to guarantee that the third direction D 33  is perpendicular with the protective glass  10  and the incident light is perpendicularly transmitted to the image-presenting region S of the protective glass  10 . 
         [0029]    Similarly, when the incident light is transmitted along the first direction D 1  to the second outer side  63 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium outside the light-pervious hollow tube  30  (typically air) and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , in accordance with the Snell&#39;s refraction law, the incident light is caused with a first time refraction at the second outer side  63 A, and the incident light is changed from the first direction D 1  to a second direction D 44  for further transmitting. When the incident light is transmitted along the second direction D 44  to the second inner side  33 A, because of the difference between the refractive index of the medium filled in the inner vacant space and the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube  30 , the incident light is caused with a second time refraction at the second inner side  33 A, and the incident light is changed from the second direction D 44  to a third direction D 55  for further transmitting. The subsequent transmission of the incident light is similar to what is discussed above, and can be learnt by referring to the foregoing discussion, and is not to be iterated hereby. 
         [0030]    According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the refractive index of the light-pervious hollow tube  30  is adaptively selected so as to control the incident light D 1  incident thereto to be twice refracted by the outer wall and inner wall of the light-pervious hollow tube respectively. The twice refracted incident light is then transmitted along a third direction D 55  to the image-presenting region S of the protective glass. In such a way, the viewer won&#39;t visually feel the existence of the invisible region. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates the structure of the seamless display apparatus according to a first embodiment and a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the present invention further provides a method for fabricating a seamless display apparatus having a plurality of panels. At first, a backlight module is prepared at a bottommost layer. Then, a plurality of LCD panels are disposed over the backlight module, in which there is an invisible region between each pair of adjacent LCD panels. Then, a plurality of light-pervious hollow tubes are disposed over the liquid crystal display panels corresponding to the invisible regions. Each of the light-pervious hollow tubes includes an inner vacant space. The inner vacant space is filled up with a filling medium. The filling medium has a specific refractive index which may be different from the refractive index of the material of the light-pervious hollow tube. Then, a protective glass is disposed over the light-pervious hollow tubes. In operation, incident light emitted from the backlight source is twice refracted by the outer walls and inner walls of the light-pervious hollow tubes, so as to eliminate the invisible regions from the light-outputting surface of the protective glass. 
         [0032]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.