Abstract:
A connector device and a display device using the same include an image displaying panel to display an image, a PCB to operate the image displaying panel, at least one cable port provided in the PCB, at least one cable connecter provided to be coupled to the cable port, and a connector holder disposed adjacent to the cable port to prevent the cable connector from being separated from the cable port. Thus the connector device and the display device using the same can prevent a cable mounted on a PCB from being separated therefrom.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 200441594, filed on Jun. 8, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present general inventive concept relates to a connector device and a display device using the same, and more particularly, to a connector device and a display device using the same to prevent a cable mounted on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) from being separated therefrom.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     A display device includes televisions, monitors for computers, etc., and is classified into a CRT monitor, an LCD monitor, a PDP monitor, etc.  
         [0006]     Nowadays, a thin display device using an image displaying panel, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), etc., is widely used.  
         [0007]     Hereinafter, the description will be given with regard to the thin display device by way of an example.  
         [0008]     A conventional display device comprises a casing formed with an accommodating space therein, an image displaying panel disposed in the accommodating space and displaying an image, and a PCB electrically connected to the image displaying panel and including a plurality of operating elements so as to operate the image displaying panel.  
         [0009]     The conventional display device includes the PCB to which kinds of cables like a power cable are connected. The cables are connected to the PCB by a connector soldering, etc. When the cables are connected to the PCB by soldering, the cables may be disconnected therefrom due to an external force. Also, when the cable is detachably connected to the PCB by the connector, the cable may be disconnected therefrom due to the external force.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a conventional LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) apparatus  101  having a disconnection preventing structure of a cable of a back light apparatus. The LCD apparatus  101  includes a guide  110  guiding the cable (not shown) from a lamp of the back light apparatus so as to prevent a disconnection of the cable therefrom. The guide  110  guides the cable to prevent the cable connected to the lamp of the back light apparatus from being disconnected therefrom.  
         [0011]     However, when the cable is detachably connected to the PCB using the connector, etc., the cable is still easily disconnected therefrom. Accordingly, a structure preventing the disconnection of the cable is required to the conventional LCD apparatus.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     In order to solve the foregoing and/or other problems, it is an aspect of the present general inventive concept to provide a connector device and a display device using the same to prevent a cable mounted on a PCB from being separated therefrom.  
         [0013]     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
         [0014]     The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a connector device and a display device using the same, the display device comprising an image displaying panel to display an image, a PCB to operate the image displaying panel, at least one cable port provided in the PCB, at least one cable connector provided to be coupled to the cable port, and a connector holder disposed adjacent to the cable port to prevent the cable connector from being separated from the cable port.  
         [0015]     According to an aspect of the present general inventive concept, the connector holder may comprise a stopper to contact a rear side of the cable connector when the cable port is coupled to the cable connector.  
         [0016]     According to another aspect of the present general inventive concept, the connector holder may be detachably mounted on the PCB.  
         [0017]     According to yet another aspect of the present general inventive concept, the PCB may further comprise at least one hook coupling hole formed adjacent to the connector holder, and the connector holder may further comprise at least one first hook accommodated in the hook coupling hole.  
         [0018]     According to still another aspect of the present general inventive concept, the connector holder may further comprise at least one second hook separated from the first hook and coupled to a side of the PCB.  
         [0019]     According to another aspect of the present general inventive concept, the connector holder may further comprise a grip projected adjacent to the second hook so as to separate the connector holder from the PCB.  
         [0020]     According to another aspect of the present general inventive concept, the connector holder may further comprise a through hole formed on a surface of the connector holder to confirm separation or coupling of the cable connector therethrough.  
         [0021]     The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present general inventive concept may also be achieved by providing a connector holder disposed on a PCB, the connector comprising at least one cable port and a cable connector provided to be coupled to the cable port, the connector holder being disposed adjacent to the cable port to prevent the cable connector from being separated from the cable port. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]     These and other aspects and advantages of the general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a conventional LCD apparatus;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a display device according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a front view illustrating a PCB of the display device of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a front view illustrating a PCB coupled to a connector holder of a display device according to another embodiment of the present general inventive concept;  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a connector holder of the display device of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is a rear view illustrating the connector holder of the display device of  FIG. 4 ; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is a rear view illustrating a coupling state of a connector holder of a display device according to another embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a display device  1  according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept may comprise a front casing  10  and a rear casing  20  coupled to each other to form an accommodating space therein. The display device  1  may further comprise an image displaying panel  30  disposed inside of the accommodating space and including a displaying surface to display an image, and a PCB  40  electrically connected to the image displaying panel  30  and transmitting electric signals to the image displaying panel  30  so as to display the image.  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the PCB  40  may include cable ports  42  at a side thereof. Also, the PCB  40  may further include cable connectors  44  detachably coupled to the cable ports  42 . The cable connectors  44  can be connected to inverter cables  48  supplying power to the PCB  40 . The PCB  40  may further include hook coupling holes  46  disposed adjacent to the cable ports  42  and accommodating a connector holder  50  ( FIG. 4 ).  
         [0033]     The cable ports  42  can be a box shape, can be projected at a side of the PCB  40 , and can be provided in a pair being separated by a predetermined distance. The cable ports  42  can be formed with an accommodating space (not shown) to accommodate the cable connectors  44  therein.  
         [0034]     The cable connectors  44  can be provided in a pair and may have a box shape to correspond to the accommodating space of the cable ports  42 . First ends of the cable connectors  44  can be respectively accommodated in the cable ports  42 , and second ends of the cable connectors  44  can be respectively connected to the inverter cables  48  so that the power can be supplied to the PCB  40 .  
         [0035]     The hook coupling holes  46  can be formed by perforating the PCB  40 . The hook coupling holes  46  can be separated from the cable ports  42  by a predetermined distance and can be provided in a pair at an outside of the cable ports  42  to accommodate first hooks  52  ( FIG. 5 ) so that the connecter holder  50  is coupled to the PCB  40 .  
         [0036]     As shown in  FIGS. 4 through 6 , the connecter holder  50  may comprise at a rear side thereof the first hooks  52  and a second hook  54  to detachably couple the connector holder  50  to the PCB  40 . Also, the connector holder  50  may further include a pair of stoppers  56  disposed adjacent to the second hook  54  to prevent the cable connectors  44  from being separated therefrom, and a through hole  58  through which the separation or the coupling of the cable connectors  44  can be confirmed by a user. The connector holder  50  may include a grip  59  projected between the pair of stoppers  56  to separate the connector holder  50  from the PCB  40 .  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the first hooks  52  can be extended from a rear side of the connector holder  50 , can be separated from each other to be accommodated in the pair of hook coupling holes  46 , respectively, and can be disposed in opposite ends of a first side of the connector holder  50 . The first hooks  52  can be bent at ends of a protruding part and can be coupled to the PCB  40  through the hook coupling holes  52 . The first hooks  52  can be employed to prevent the connector holder  50  from being separated from the PCB  40 .  
         [0038]     The second hook  54  can project from the rear side of the connector holder  50 , can be separated by a predetermined distance from the first hooks  52 , and can be disposed at a center portion of a second side of the connector holder  50 . The second hook  54  can couple the connector holder  50  to the PCB  40  by hooking at a side of the PCB  40  without coupling holes, etc. The second hook  54  can be disposed between the pair of cable connecters  44  so as to stably couple the second side of the connector holder  50  to the PCB  40 .  
         [0039]     The pair of stoppers  56  can be respectively disposed in the same side as the second hook  54  and can project to be separated from the second hook  54 . The stoppers  56  can contact rear sides of the cable connectors  44  in a state that the cable connectors  44  are coupled to the cable ports  42 . The stoppers  56  push the cable connectors  44  to the cable ports  42  to prevent the cable connectors  44  from being undesirably separated from the cable ports  42 . Accordingly, a separating distance between the stoppers  56  can correspond to a distance between the cable connecters  44 .  
         [0040]     The through hole  58  can be disposed adjacent to the second hook  54  and the stoppers  56  and can be formed at a surface of the connector holder  50 . A side of a wall defining the through hole  58  can be formed with the second hook  54  extended from the rear side of the connector holder  50  and the stoppers  56 . Because the through hole  58  is formed adjacent to the stoppers  56 , users are able to directly confirm whether the cable connectors  44  are exactly coupled to the cable ports  42 .  
         [0041]     The grip  59  can project from a side of the connector holder  50  including the second holder  54  and the stoppers  56 . When the users raise the grip  59 , the second hook  54  hooked at a side of the PCB  40  can be separated from the PCB  40  so that the connector holder  50  is easily separated therefrom.  
         [0042]     A coupling and a detaching processes of the connector holder  50  of the display device  1  according to the present general inventive concept are described by referring to  FIGS. 2-7  as follows.  
         [0043]     First, the cable connectors  44  can be coupled to the cable ports  42  disposed at the PCB  40 .  
         [0044]     Then, the first hooks  52  of the connecter holder  50  can be inserted into the hook coupling holes  46  formed by perforating the PCB  40 , and the second hook  54  can be hooked at a side of the PCB  40  by pushing the grip  59  of the connecter holder  50 . The hook coupling holes  46  can be formed to be larger than the first hooks  52  in area so that the first hooks  52  are easily inserted thereinto.  
         [0045]     When the connecter holder  50  is coupled to the PCB  40 , the cable connectors  44  can be prevented from being separated from the cable ports  42  because the stoppers  56  contact a rear side of the cable connectors  44 .  
         [0046]     Because the hook coupling holes  46  are larger than coupling parts of the first hooks  52 , the connecter holder  50  may be swayed in a case that the connector holder  50  is coupled to the PCB  40 . Accordingly, the second hook  54  and the stoppers  56  of the connector holder  50  can be designed so as to compensate for a moving distance by which each of the first hooks  52  moves from one side of the hook coupling hole  46  to the other side of the hook coupling hole  46 . However, the second hook  54  may get nearer to the first hooks  52  as far as the first hooks  52  sway inside the hook coupling holes  46 .  
         [0047]     A process separating the connecter holder  50  from the PCB  40  can be opposite to the coupling process. In other words, when the grip  59  is raised therefrom, the second hook  54  can be separated from the PCB  40  and in a case that the grip  59  is raised higher, the first hooks  52  can be separated from the hook coupling holes  46  so that the connector holder  50  is separated from the PCB  40 .  
         [0048]     As described above, the display device may comprise an LCD monitor, but the display device may comprises a CRT monitor, a PDP monitor, etc. A connector can be used in all kinds of boards, such as the PCB  40 , as well as the display panel.  
         [0049]     As described above, the cable ports  42  and the cable connectors  44  have a box shape, but various shapes can also be used for the cable parts  42  and the cable connectors  44 . Accordingly, a shape of the connectors holder  50  to support the cable connectors  44  may vary or may be modified to correspond to the cable connectors  44 .  
         [0050]     As described above, the connector holder  50  can be used to prevent the cable connectors  44  connected to the inverter cables  48  supplying power to the PCB  40  from being separated from the cable ports  42 , but the connecter holder  50  may be applied to different devices in which the cable connectors  44  are used.  
         [0051]     As described above, the hook coupling holes  46  and the first hooks  52  can be provided in a pair, but the number of the hook coupling holes  46  and the first hooks  52  is not limited thereto so far as the connector holder  50  can be stably coupled.  
         [0052]     As described above, the second hook  54  can be provided in a single hook disposed at a center portion of a side of the connector holder  50 , but the number of the connector holders  50  is not limited thereto so far as the connector holders  50  can be stably coupled thereof.  
         [0053]     As described above, the second hook  54  can couple the connector holder  50  to the PCB  40  by hooking at a side of the PCB  40  but the connector holder  50  may be coupled thereto by coupling holes, etc.  
         [0054]     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.