Patent Publication Number: US-9899724-B2

Title: Display device having antenna

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/958,053, filed on Aug. 2, 2013, and claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0035912, filed on Apr. 2, 2013, which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device that displays an image. More particularly, the exemplary embodiments relate to a display device having an antenna. 
     Discussion of the Background 
     In recent years, various display devices, such as a liquid crystal display, a field emission display, a plasma display panel, an organic light emitting display, etc., have been widely used. 
     The display devices are applied to various image display devices, e.g., a television set, a computer monitor, etc., to display images or texts. In particular, an active matrix liquid crystal display, which drives a liquid crystal cell by using a thin film transistor, has advantages, such as superior image quality, low power consumption, etc., and has been recently scaled-up and redesigned with higher resolution for better image quality. 
     In general, the display device is applied to not only computer monitors and television sets, but also to portable notebook computers. The notebook computer is required to be slim and light weight. 
     In recent years, notebook computers have often been equipped with a wireless communication capability. For wireless communication, the notebook computer is generally required to include an antenna. The notebook computer is generally configured to include a computer system module and a display part. Thus, an antenna to be installed on the display part should be capable of providing enhanced transmitting and receiving efficiency for wireless signals. 
     SUMMARY 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a display device capable of reducing the size of an antenna applied thereto. 
     Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention discloses a display device including a display panel that displays an image, a driving circuit substrate disposed on a rear surface of the display panel and controlling the display panel to display the image, and an antenna connected to an end portion of the driving circuit substrate in a longitudinal direction of the driving circuit substrate. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also discloses a display device including a display panel that displays an image, a driving circuit substrate disposed on a rear surface of the display panel and controlling the display panel to display the image, a protective cover coupled to the display panel while interposing the driving circuit substrate there between to protect the driving circuit substrate, and an antenna pattern part attached to the protective cover to transmit and receive a wireless signal. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are included 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 specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged plan view showing a portion of a driving circuit substrate and a first antenna shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion of a driving circuit substrate and a first antenna shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a liquid crystal display according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view showing a liquid crystal display according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view showing a notebook computer employing a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements. 
     It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “connected to”, or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”, “directly connected to”, or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. It will be understood that for the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” can be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper”, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the 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. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes” and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     The present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Hereinafter, although a liquid crystal display will be described as a representative example, the following exemplary embodiments may be applied to various display devices, such as a light emitting diode display, an organic light emitting diode display, a plasma display, an electrophoretic display, an electrowetting display, a vacuum fluorescent display, a field emission display, an electroluminescence display, etc. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a liquid crystal display  100  includes a receiving container  110 , a display panel  120 , a driving circuit substrate  130 , and a backlight assembly  140 . 
     The display panel  120  includes a first display substrate  121  including gate lines, data lines, thin film transistors, and pixel electrodes, and a second display substrate  122  including a black matrix and a common electrode and being disposed to face the first display substrate  121 . According to exemplary embodiments, the black matrix and the common electrode may be disposed on the first display substrate  121 . The display panel  120  receives light from the backlight assembly  140  and displays the image. According to exemplary embodiments, the display panel  120  further includes polarizing films (not shown) respectively disposed on upper and lower surfaces thereof. The display panel  120  is electrically connected to the driving circuit substrate  130 . 
     The backlight assembly  140  includes an optical sheet  141 , a backlight unit  142 , a light guide plate  143 , a reflection sheet  144 , and a mold frame  145 . The backlight unit  142  is disposed adjacent to a side surface of the light guide plate  143 . The light guide plate  143  guides the light provided from the backlight unit  142  to the display panel  120 . The light guide plate  143  may have a plate shape and may be formed of a transparent material, e.g., glass or plastic. For instance, the light guide plate  143  may be formed an acrylic resin, e.g., polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or polycarbonate. When the light is incident to the light guide plate  143  through the side surface, the light is totally reflected at upper and lower surfaces of the light guide plate  143 , and thus the light is contained within the light guide plate  143 . 
     A diffusion pattern (not shown) may be formed on at least one of the upper surface or the lower surface of the light guide plate  143  such that the light dispersed in the light guide plate  143  travels toward the display panel  120  after exiting from the light guide plate  143 . The diffusion pattern may be formed on the lower surface of the light guide plate  143 . That is, the light traveling through the light guide plate  143  is reflected by the diffusion pattern, and then exits outside the light guide plate  143  through the upper surface of the light guide plate  143 . 
     The backlight unit  142  is disposed adjacent to the side surface of the light guide plate  143 . In this structure, the light guide plate  143  has a flat shape with a uniform thickness to uniformly provide the light to the entire of the display panel  120 , but it should not be limited thereto. The backlight unit  142  disposed adjacent to the side surface includes a plurality of light emitting blocks, each emitting light. 
     The reflection sheet  144  is disposed on a first surface of the light guide plate  143  to reflect the light exiting from the light guide plate  143  toward a second surface of the light guide plate  143 . That is, the reflection sheet  144  reflects the light not reflected by the diffusion pattern formed on the first surface of the light guide plate  143  to an exit surface of the light guide plate  143 , thereby preventing the loss of the light incident to the light guide plate  143  while the light is guided by the light guide plate  143 . This results in improved uniformity of the light exiting from the exiting surface of the light guide plate. 
     The optical sheets  141  are disposed on the second surface of the light guide plate  143  to diffuse and condense the light provided by the light guide plate  143 . To this end, the optical sheets  141  include a diffusion sheet, a prism sheet, and a protective sheet. The diffusion sheet is disposed between the light guide plate  143  and the prism sheet to diffuse the light provided from the light guide plate  143 , to thereby prevent the light from being concentrated. The prism sheet is configured to include prisms arranged on an upper surface thereof and may be provided as two sheets. Two prism sheets have the prisms arranged in different directions and condense the light diffused by the diffusion sheet to travel toward a direction perpendicular to the display panel  120 . Accordingly, the light passing through the prism sheet travels in the perpendicular direction, so that brightness may be uniform on the protective sheet. The protective sheet disposed on the prism sheet protects the surface of the prism sheet and diffuses the light provided from the prism sheet to improve the uniformity of the distribution of the light. The optical sheets  141  should not be limited to the above-mentioned structure. That is, the structure of the optical sheets  141  may be changed depending on the specification of the liquid crystal display  100 . 
     The display panel  120  is disposed on the protective sheet and accommodated in the receiving container  110  together with the backlight assembly  140 . The receiving container  110  includes a bottom portion and a sidewall portion formed along an edge of the bottom portion to provide a receiving space in which the display panel  120  and the backlight assembly  140  are accommodated and prevent the backlight assembly  140  including the sheets from being bent. In addition, the driving circuit substrate  130  is electrically connected to the display panel  120  and bent along an outer surface of the mold frame  145 , so that the driving circuit substrate  130  is placed on a rear surface of the mold frame  145 . The mold frame  145  has a rectangular box shape and one surface thereof is opened. The display panel  120  and the backlight assembly are accommodated in and supported by the mold frame  145 . 
     The mold frame  145  serves as a rear surface of the liquid crystal display  100 , and a support rib  145   a  is disposed on the surface of the mold frame  145 , which partially makes contact with the driving circuit substrate  130  and supports the driving circuit substrate  130 . The support rib  145   a  prevents chips mounted on the driving circuit substrate  130  from being damaged by the mold frame  145  when the driving circuit substrate  130  makes contact with the mold frame  145 . The support rib  145   a  may have various shapes. 
     The receiving container  110  has a rectangular shape like the mold frame  145 , and one surface thereof is opened to expose the display panel  120 . In addition, the receiving container  110  is coupled with the mold frame  145  such that a sidewall portion thereof covers the sidewall portion of the mold frame  145 . 
     The driving circuit substrate  130  is connected to the display panel  120  through a flexible printed circuit board  132 . The driving circuit substrate  130  is configured to include a printed circuit board, and various parts are mounted on the driving circuit substrate  130  to control the display panel  120  that displays the image. In particular, the driving circuit substrate  130  includes a first antenna  150  and a second antenna  151 . In the present exemplary embodiment, the first antenna  150  serves as a main antenna and the second antenna  151  serves as an auxiliary antenna. The driving circuit substrate  130  may instead include only the first antenna  150 . 
     In recent years, a wireless communication technology has advanced, and electronic devices are required to receive various frequencies. In particular, the liquid crystal display  100  employing a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication system may include not only the first antenna  150  but also the second antenna  151 . In the present exemplary embodiment, each of the first and second antennas  150  and  151  is configured to include a chip antenna. The driving circuit substrate  130  may serve as a ground for the first and second antennas  150  and  151 . 
     The first antenna  150  and the second antenna  151  are designed to receive one or more signals through various wireless communication systems, e.g., long term evolution (LTE), WiMax, global system for mobile communication (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), bluetooth, Near field communication (NFC), WiFi, radio frequency identification (RFID), etc. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged plan view showing a portion of the driving circuit substrate and the first antenna shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view showing the portion of the driving circuit substrate and the first antenna shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , an opening portion  131  is formed through an end portion of the driving circuit substrate  130  in a longitudinal direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 . In addition, the driving circuit substrate  130  includes a coupling portion  133  formed crossing the opening portion  131 . The first antenna  150  is disposed above the opening portion  131  of the driving circuit substrate  130  to overlap with a portion of the driving circuit substrate  130  and the coupling portion  133 . 
     The opening portion  131  may have a length “a” of about 2.8 mm in the longitudinal direction of the driving circuit substrate  130  and a width “b” of about 6.5 mm in a width direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 . The size of the opening portion  131  may be changed depending on the size of the driving circuit substrate  130  and a radiation property of the first antenna  150 . 
     Each of the first and second antennas  150  and  151  shown in  FIG. 1  may be a dielectric type chip antenna or a helical monopole type chip antenna. When the first antenna  150  is the dielectric type chip antenna, the first antenna  150  may have a length of about 1.5 mm in the longitudinal direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 , a width of about 3.0 mm in the width direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 , and a height of about 1.2 mm. In this case, the length and width of the first antenna  150  in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 , respectively, are less than the length “a” and width “b” of the opening portion  131 , respectively. 
     When the first antenna  150  is the helical monopole type chip antenna, the first antenna  150  may have a length of about 2.0 mm in the longitudinal direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 , a width of about 6.0 mm in the width direction of the driving circuit substrate  130 , and a height of about 1.2 mm. 
     The first antenna  150  is directly mounted on the surface of the driving circuit substrate  130  and electrically connected to the flexible printed circuit board  132  through the coupling portion  133 . In particular, because the first and second antennas  150  and  151  are relatively small, the size of the driving circuit substrate  130  may be reduced. In addition, the first and second antennas  150  and  151  are located at the end portion of the driving circuit substrate  130  in the longitudinal direction, and thus the driving circuit substrate  130  and the liquid crystal display  100  may be designed in accordance with the standard required by video electronics standards association (VESA). 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a liquid crystal display according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a liquid crystal display  200  includes a receiving container  210 , a mold frame  220 , a driving circuit substrate  230 , and a protective cover  240 . Although not shown in  FIG. 4 , a display panel, a backlight assembly, and a mold frame  220  are accommodated in the receiving container  210 . The receiving container  210  is coupled with the mold frame  220  to allow a sidewall portion of the receiving container  210  to cover a sidewall portion of the mold frame  220 . The mold frame  220  provides a rear surface of the liquid crystal display  100  and the driving circuit substrate  230  is attached to the mold frame  220 . 
     The protective cover  240  is disposed on a rear surface of the driving circuit substrate  230  to be coupled to the mold frame  220  while interposing the driving circuit substrate  230  there between. The protective cover  240  includes a rear portion  241  that covers the rear surface of the driving circuit substrate  230  to protect the driving circuit substrate  230  and a side portion  242  bent from the rear portion  241  and coupled with the receiving container  210 . 
     The rear portion  241  of the protective cover  240  has a size and a shape which are appropriate to cover the entire area of the rear surface of the driving circuit substrate  230 , and may be formed of polyethylene terephthalate. The protective cover  240  may be fixed to the mold frame  220  and the receiving container  210  by using an adhesive tape or a screw. Thus, the protective cover  240  is securely fixed to the display panel  200 , so that movement of the driving circuit substrate  230  may be prevented. 
     A first antenna  250  and a second antenna  251  may be pattern antennas formed by using a metal thin film layer and arranged on the rear portion  241  of the protective cover  240 . The first and second antennas  250  and  251  are disposed at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the rear portion  241 . In addition, the first and second antennas  250  and  251  are electrically connected to a flexible printed circuit board  232  through a first cable  260  and a second cable  261 , respectively. The first and second cables  260  and  261  are disposed on the rear portion  241  of the protective cover  240 . The protective cover  240  is provided with a window  243  formed there through to partially expose the rear portion  241  and the side portion  242 , and thus the first and second cables  260  and  261  are electrically connected to the flexible printed circuit board  232 . 
       FIG. 5  is a plan view showing a liquid crystal display according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a liquid crystal display  300  includes a display panel  310  and a driving circuit substrate  330 . The display panel  310  and the driving circuit substrate  330  are electrically connected to each other through a flexible printed circuit board  331 . 
     The display panel  310  includes a display area DA in which a plurality of pixels are arranged and a non-display area NDA disposed adjacent to the display area DA. The image is displayed in the display area DA and not displayed in the non-display area NDA. The display panel  310  may be a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, or a film substrate. Circuits realized by using an oxide semiconductor, amorphous semiconductor, crystalline semiconductor, or polycrystalline semiconductor are integrated in the non-display area NDA in order to apply signals to the pixels. 
     A first antenna  350  and a second antenna  351  are disposed in an area of the non-display area  310 . The first and second antennas  350  and  351  may be pattern antennas formed by using a metal thin film layer. The first and second antennas  350  and  351  are electrically connected to a flexible printed circuit board  331  through a first cable  361  and a second cable  362 , respectively. The first and second cables  361  and  362  are arranged in the non-display area NDA of the display panel  310 . 
       FIG. 6  is a front perspective view showing a notebook computer employing a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a notebook computer  1000  includes a liquid crystal display  1100  and a computer system  1200 . The liquid crystal display  1100  may be one of the liquid crystal displays  100 ,  200 , and  300  shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 . The computer system  1200  includes a data input device, such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc., a data processing and storing device, such as a central processing unit, a graphic card, a memory, etc., and a communication device, such as an infrared ray communication port, a wireless LAN, etc. 
     The liquid crystal display  1100  includes an antenna for a wireless communication, and a wireless signal received through the antenna is provided to the computer system  1200 . In particular, when the liquid crystal display  100  shown in  FIG. 1  is used as the liquid crystal display  1100 , small-sized chip antennas  150  and  151  may be mounted on the driving circuit substrate  130 . Thus, the liquid crystal display  1100  may be slimmed and light-weighted. 
     Further, inclusion of the antenna in the liquid crystal display  1100  may reduce or prevent the possibility of electromagnetic interference generated by the computer system  120 . 
     According to the above, the chip antenna is disposed on the printed circuit board, and thus the size of the display device may be reduced. Thus, the size of portable electronic devices, e.g., a notebook, may be reduced. 
     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 invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.