Abstract:
Liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal panel having a plurality of gate lines and data lines, and at least one drive-IC having multi-channels, the multi-channels having linked channels connected to the gate lines or data lines and dummy channels not linked to the gate lines or the data lines. The linked channels may be arranged successively in a line and the dummy channels may be arranged at opposite ends of the line of the linked channels to thereby reduce dim block formation by shifting positions of the dummy portions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2004-86682 filed on Oct. 28, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to liquid crystal display devices, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device for improving a picture quality. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     In keeping pace with developments of an information oriented society, demands for display devices has increased in various forms. Recently, to meet the demands, various flat display devices such as LCDs (Liquid Crystal Display Device), PDPs (Plasma Display Panel), ELDs (Electro Luminescent Display), VFDs (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), and so on have been studied, some of which are being used as display devices in various apparatuses. 
     Of the various display devices, the LCD has been used mostly for mobile display devices owing to advantages of good picture quality, lightweight, thin profile, and low power consumption. In addition to mobile display devices such as monitors for notebook computers, the LCD has been developed in various forms as monitors for televisions for receiving and displaying a broadcasting signal and as monitors for desktop computers. 
     For using the LCD as general display devices, key development of the LCD lies in further realizing high quality picture, such as high definition, high luminance, and large sized picture, while maintaining the features of lightweight, thin profile, and low power consumption. 
     An LCD is provided with a liquid crystal panel for displaying a picture, and a driving unit for applying a driving signal to the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal display panel is provided with first and second glass substrates bonded together with a space between the substrates, and a liquid crystal layer between the first and the second glass substrates. 
     Formed on the first glass substrate (or a TFT array substrate) are a plurality of gate lines arranged at regular intervals in one direction, a plurality of data lines arranged at regular intervals perpendicular to the gate lines, a plurality of pixel electrodes on every pixel region defined at every intersection between the gate lines and the data lines in a form of matrix, and a plurality of thin film transistors (TFT) to be switched in response to a signal on the gate line for transmission of a signal on the data line to each pixel electrode. 
     Formed on the second glass substrate (or a color filter substrate) are a black matrix layer for shielding a light incident on parts excluding the pixel regions, R, G, and B color filter layers for expressing colors, and a common electrode for displaying a picture. 
     A driving principle of a general liquid crystal display device lies on using optical anisotropy and polarizing properties of liquid crystals. Since the liquid crystal is thin and elongated, molecules of the liquid crystals tend to orient such that applying an electric field to the liquid crystals can control orientation of a molecular arrangement of the liquid crystals. 
     Therefore, if the orientation of the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystals is controlled, the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystals is controlled, and the light refracts in a direction of the desired orientation of the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystals, thereby enabling the display of the picture information. 
     Presently, the Active Matrix LCD, in which thin film transistors and pixel electrodes connected thereto are arranged in a matrix, has attracted the most interest due to its good resolution and motion picture implementing capability. 
     A related art liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to the attached drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the related art liquid crystal display panel is provided with a first substrate  1  and a second substrate  2  bonded together with a space between the substrates, and liquid crystals  3  between the first substrate  1  and the second substrate  2 . 
     Arranged on the first substrate  1  are a plurality of gate lines  4  at regular intervals in one direction, and a plurality of data lines  5  at regular intervals perpendicular to the gate lines  4  to define pixel regions ‘P’, wherein a pixel electrode  6  is formed on each of pixel regions ‘P’. A plurality of thin film transistors ‘T’ are respectively formed at portions where the gate lines  4  and the data lines  5  intersect so as to be driven in response to a signal on the gate line  4  for transmission of a data signal from the data line  5  to each pixel electrode  6 . 
     A black matrix layer  7  is formed on the second substrate  2  for shielding light incident on portions excluding the pixel regions ‘P’. R, G, and B color filter layers  8  for expressing colors and a common electrode  9  are also formed on the second substrate  2  for displaying a picture. 
     The thin film transistor ‘T’ is provided with a gate electrode projected from the gate line  4 , a gate insulating film (not shown) is formed on an entire surface, an active layer (not shown) is formed on the gate insulating film over the gate electrode, a source electrode is projected from the data line  5 , and a drain electrode is spaced a predetermined distance from the source electrode. 
     The pixel electrode  6  is in contact with the drain electrode for being turned on/off in response to a signal received as the thin film transistor ‘T’ is driven. The pixel electrode  6  is formed from a transparent conductive metal having a good light transmittivity such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an enlarged view showing a wiring of a pixel region, a link region, and a pad region of a related art liquid crystal display device. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the wiring of the related art liquid crystal display device is formed such that a space between adjacent lines becomes smaller as the wiring proceeds from the pixel region to the pad region via the link region. This is because a drive-IC (not shown) formed opposite to the pad region for receiving line signals from a system has a width relatively smaller than a width of the plurality of the gate lines or data lines connected to the drive-IC. The gate lines or the data lines in the pixel region  15   a  are extended to pad lines  15   c  via link lines  15   b.    
     A configuration at a center portion ‘C’ is different from a configuration at an edge portion E. That is, while the wiring at the center portion ‘C’ of the drive-IC runs on a straight line through the pixel region, the link region, and the pad region, the wiring at the edge portion ‘E’ of the drive-IC has different pitches between the wiring  15   a  at the pixel region and the wiring  15   c  at the pads, the pitch of the wiring at the link  15   b  between the pixel region and the pad region is reduced as the wiring goes from the pixel region toward the pad region. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a plan view of a wiring of a related art liquid crystal display device, and  FIG. 4  illustrates an enlarged view of wiring of a third Tape Carrier Package (TCP) in  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the related art liquid crystal display device is provided with a liquid crystal panel  10  having first substrate  1  and a second substrate  2  opposite each other and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) between the first and second substrates  1  and  2 . The liquid crystal display panel  10  has a pixel region (inside the dashed lines) defined at a center portion and a non-display portion (outside the dashed lines) defined on an outside of the pixel region. The non-display portion is provided with a pad region where gate drive-ICs  12  and data drive-ICs  14  are connected thereto with respective gate TCPs  11   a ˜ 11   d , and data TCPs  13   a ˜ 13   c  and  23   a ˜ 23   c , and a link region between the pixel region and the pad region where the link wiring passes. 
     The gate drive-ICs  12  and the data drive-ICs  14  are connected to the pad region with corresponding TCP film. In the drawing, the gate drive-ICs  12  are connected to the pad region of the liquid crystal panel  10  with first to fourth gate TCPs  11   a ,  11   b ,  11   c , and  11   d  respectively, and the data drive-ICs  14  are connected to the pad region of the liquid crystal panel  10  with first to sixth data TCPs  13   a ,  13   b ,  13   c ,  23   a ,  23   b , and  23   c.    
     If the liquid crystal display device is driven in a two port system, i.e. if the first to third data TCP  13   a ,  13   b , and  13   c  and the fourth to sixth data TCP  23   a ,  23   b , and  23   c  receive data voltage signals from ports of a system different from each other, there are surplus first dummy portion  20   a  and a second dummy portion  20   b  at ends of the ports which do not receive signals from the ports. 
     The total number of output pins of the data TCPs  13   a ,  13   b ,  13   c ,  23   a ,  23   b , and  23   c  are not the same with a total number of the data lines  15   a  on the liquid crystal panel  10 . Therefore, in the two port system, if the pins of the data TCP are connected to the data lines  15   a  starting from a left side of the first port in succession, there are pins at an end of the first port, i.e. an end of the third TCP  13   c , which do not have corresponding data lines  15   a  of the liquid crystal panel  10  and are left as surplus. Similarly, there are surplus pins at an end of the sixth TCP  23   c . Thus, there are dummy pins (or called channels) at the third and sixth data TCPs  13   c  and  23   c  and are called as TCP dummy portions  20   a  and  20   b , respectively. There are two dummy portions  20   a  and  20   b  in the two port system. 
     If there are more than two ports in the liquid crystal panel  10 , the number of dummy portions at ends of the ports will match the number of the ports typically. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , there are six dummy pins at an end of the third data TCP  13   c  of the end of the first portion, i.e. at the first dummy portion  20   a . It is likely that there is a same number of dummy pins at the second dummy portion  20   b.    
     It is assumed that the liquid crystal display device of the related art is in an SXGA display, with a resolution of 1280×1024. Thus, there are 1280×3=3840 data lines in the pixel region. 
     If it is assumed that there are 642 pins in each data TCP, and data mapping (connection of the pins of the data TCP to the data lines) is started from the left side, though all pins (642 pins) of the first data TCP  13   a  and the second data TCP  13   b  are matched and connected to the data lines  15   a , only 636 pins of the third data TCP  13   c  are matched and connected to the data lines  15   a . This leaves right most 6 dummy pins in the third data TCP  13   c  unmatched and unconnected to the data lines of the pixel region as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     That is, the first data TCP  13   a  has the first to 642nd data lines (# 1 ˜# 642 ) connected thereto, the second data TCP  13   b  has 643rd to 1284th data lines (# 643 ˜# 1284 ) connected thereto, and the third data TCP  13   c  has 1285th to 1920th data lines (# 1285 ˜# 1920 ) connected thereto. 
     Moreover, the fourth data TCP  23   a  has 1921st to 2562nd data lines (# 1921 ˜# 2562 ) connected thereto, the fifth data TCP  23   b  has 2563rd to 3204th data lines (# 2563 ˜# 3204 ) connected thereto, and the sixth data TCP  23   c  has 3205th to 3840th data lines (# 3205 ˜# 3840 ) connected thereto. 
     Thus, there are first and second dummy portions  20   a  and  20   b  each with 6 pins at right side ends of the third data TCP  13   c  and the sixth data TCP  23   c , respectively. 
     It should be noted that the number of dummy pins can change according to the number of pins of the TCP. That is, the number of dummy pins is a difference of a number of the output pins of the data TCPs and a number of the data lines  15   a.    
     The first dummy portion  20   a  between the third data TCP  13   c  and the fourth data TCP  23   a  causes a link resistance difference between the first dummy portion  20   a  and the link wiring in the vicinity of the first dummy portion  20   a . As a result, a dim block is formed in the vicinity of the first dummy portion  20   a  causing a difference of luminance from neighboring portions of the panel. 
     That is, the dummy pins of the TCP dummy portion have resistance differences from neighboring link wiring, which causes differences in the rising and falling of the data signal supplied from a source drive-IC. This in turn causes a charging performance difference of pixel regions leading to a formation of the dim block at an interface of the drive-ICs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a liquid crystal display device that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device is provided in which a position of a dummy portion is shifted from a portion between TCPs (or drive-ICs) to an outermost portion for preventing the dim block from forming. 
     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     In an aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having a plurality of gate lines and data lines, and at least one drive-IC having multi-channels, the multi-channels including linked channels connected to the gate lines or data lines, and dummy channels not linked to the gate lines or the data lines, wherein the linked channels are arranged successively in a line, and the dummy channels are arranged at opposite ends of the line of the linked channels. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having a pixel region defined at a central portion, and a pad region defined on an outside of the pixel region, a TCP (Tape Carrier Package) connected to the pad region, the TCP having a drive-IC, and dummy portions at opposite outermost sides of the pad region. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having a pixel region defined at a central portion, and a pad region defined on an outside of the pixel region, a plurality of gate TCPs connected to the pad region and gate lines on the pixel region, each of the gate TCPs having a gate drive-IC, a plurality of data TCPs connected to the pad region and data lines on the pixel region, each of the data TCPs having a data drive-IC, and dummy portions at data TCPs at opposite outermost sides of a corresponding side of the pad region. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings; 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded perspective view of a related art liquid crystal display device; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an enlarged view showing a wiring of a pixel region, a link region, and a pad region of a related art liquid crystal display device; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a plan view of a wiring of a related art liquid crystal display device; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an enlarged view of wiring of the third TCP in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a plan view of wiring of a liquid crystal display device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an enlarged view of wiring of the first data drive-IC in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a plan view of wiring of a liquid crystal display device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6  illustrates an enlarged view of wiring of the first data drive-IC in  FIG. 5 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the liquid crystal display device may include a liquid crystal display panel  60  having a first substrate  51  and a second substrate  52  opposite each other, and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) between the first and second substrates  51  and  52 . The liquid crystal panel  60  may have a pixel region (within the dash line) defined at a central portion of the liquid crystal panel and a non-display region (outside of the dashed line) defined on an outside of the pixel region. The non-display portion may include a pad region gate drive-ICs  62  and data drive-ICs  64  mounted thereon and a link region between the pixel region and the pad region through which the link wiring passes. 
     The gate drive-ICs  62  and the data drive-ICs  64  may be connected to the pad region through TCP films. The gate drive-ICs  62  may be connected to the pad region of the liquid crystal panel  60  with first to fourth gate TCPs  61   a ,  61   b ,  61   c , and  61   d , respectively, and the data drive-ICs  64  may be connected to the pad region of the liquid crystal panel with first to sixth data TCP  63   a ,  63   b ,  63   c ,  73   a ,  73   b , and  73   c.    
     The liquid crystal display device may be driven by a two port system, and the first to third data TCPs  63   a ,  63   b , and  63   c  may receive data voltage signals from a port of the system different from the fourth to sixth data TCPs  73   a ,  73   b , and  73   c.    
     The total number of pins of the data TCPs may not be the same as the total number of data lines  65   a  on the liquid crystal panel  60 . In this case, the total number of output pins formed on the first to sixth data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c  and  73   a ˜ 73   c  may be greater than the total number of data lines  65   a  formed on the pixel region. The number of surplus output pins of the first to sixth data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c  and  73   a ˜ 73   c  may be equally divided and arranged on opposite outermost sides of the pad region of the first to sixth data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c  and  73   a ˜ 73   c . That is, the first dummy portion  80   a  including a first dummy pin may be positioned at the first data TCP  63   a . The second dummy portion  80   b  including a second dummy pin may be positioned at the sixth data TCP  73   c . The link pins of the first to sixth data TCPs  63   a ˜ 73   c , which may be one to one matched and connected to the data lines  65   a  between the first dummy pin and the second dummy pin, may be positioned successively. 
     Accordingly, since rest of output pins of the data TCPs  63   a ˜ 73   c  excluding the dummy pins of the first to second dummy portions  80   a  and  80   b  are one to one matched and connected to the data lines  65   a  without any surplus unmatched pins, formation of the dim block within the pixel region due to the dummy pins may be minimized. 
     As an example, the liquid crystal display device shown in  FIG. 5  is assumed to be an SXGA class display having a liquid crystal panel with a resolution of 1280×1024 and a pixel region with 1280×3=3840 data lines. 
     If it is assumed that each of the data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c , and  73   a ˜ 73   c  has 642 pins, and a total 6 data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c  and  73   a ˜ 73   c  are formed at the liquid crystal panel  60 , a total number of pins of the data TCPs  63   a ˜ 63   c , and  73   a ˜ 73   c  are 642×6=3852. In this instance, since the SXGA class liquid crystal panel  60  has a total 3840 data lines  65   a  within the pixel region (inside of the dashed line), there are a total 12 dummy output pins. In the liquid crystal display device of the embodiment of the present invention, six dummy output pins are positioned at a left outer side of the first data TCP  63   a  and six dummy output pins are positioned at a right outer side of the sixth data TCP  73   c . As such, since no dummy pins are positioned at any portion of the liquid crystal digital panel  60  where the signal is applied thereto, the dim block caused by the dummy pins can be prevented or minimized in the neighborhood of the dummy pins. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , it can be seen that the first data TCP  63   a  having the data drive-IC formed thereon may have 6 pins arranged from a left side in succession without connection to the pixel region, and a seventh pin may be connected to a first data line of the pixel region. The first data TCP  63   a  may have a total 636 pins starting from the seventh pin connected to the data lines on the pixel region, starting from the first data line to a 636th data line (# 1 ˜#  636 ) in succession, the second data TCP  63   b  may have a total 642 pins connected to the data lines, starting from a 637th data line to a 1278th data line (# 637 ˜# 1278 ) without surplus, and the third data TCP  63   c  may also have a total 642 pins connected to the data lines without surplus, starting from a 1279th data line to a 1920th data line (# 1279 ˜# 1920 ). The fourth data TCP  73   a  may have a total 642 pins connected to the data lines, starting from a 1921st data line to a 2562nd data line (# 1921 ˜# 2562 ), the fifth data TCP  73   b  may have a total 642 pins connected to the data lines, starting from a 2563rd data line to a 3204th data line (# 2563 ˜# 3204 ), and the sixth data TCP  73   c  may have a total 636 pins connected to the data lines, starting from a 3205th data line to a 3840th data line (# 3205 ˜# 3840 ). That is, starting from the first data TCP  63   a  to the sixth data TCP  73   c , the data TCPs may be connected to 636, 642, 642, 642, 642, and 636 pins in succession. 
     Similarly, if there is a difference between a number of output pins of the gate TCPs  61   a ˜ 61   d  and a number of gate lines  66   a , the dummy pins not connected to the gate lines on the pixel region may be arranged on opposite (outer) sides of the gate pad region. 
     As has been described, the liquid crystal display device of the embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages. 
     The assigning of the dummy portions having dummy pins which are not connected to the line on the pixel region to the outermost portions of the pad region prevents the difference of link resistance between the dummy portion and a neighboring portion. This enables the link resistances between link wiring to be uniform or substantially uniform. Thus, the dim block caused by resistance difference between the line wiring can be prevented or minimized. Moreover, the shifting of the dummy portions to outermost sides of the pad region is favorable in design. That is, by preventing the output pins that are not connected to the wiring from being positioned between the data lines, picture quality drop can be improved. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.