Patent Description:
A display that displays an image is a device that displays the image using a display panel and is used in a variety of devices such as a television, a computer monitor, and a smartphone. However, since a general display does not emit light itself, it requires a backlight unit including a separate light source, and the backlight unit is disposed behind the display panel.

The backlight unit may be classified into a direct-lit type backlight unit in which the light source is disposed behind the display panel and directly irradiates light to the display panel, and an edge-lit type backlight unit in which light is irradiated to a side surface of the light guide plate disposed behind the display panel and the light incident into the light guide plate is uniformly guided to the display panel through the light guide plate.

The display including the edge-lit type backlight unit according to the related art has an advantage that a thickness thereof is thinner than that of the display including the direct-lit type backlight unit because the light source is disposed on a side surface of the light guide plate, but there is a limitation that a size of the display panel is determined to correspond to a size of the light guide plate due to a structure in which a diffusion plate and the display panel are stacked on the light guide plate.

In recent years, the light guide plate having a size smaller than an area of the display panel is used to simplify a process of manufacturing the display and to reduce a cost for manufacturing the display, and the display panel is spaced apart from the light guide plate by a predetermined optical distance to reinforce a surface light source of the light guide plate which is reduced according to the reduced area of the light guide plate. Accordingly, the surface light source of the light guide plate may diffuse light to the display panel through the predetermined optical distance.

However, in this structure, a predetermined level or more of quantity of light may be provided to the display panel which is adjacent to the light source, but since the predetermined level or more of quantity of light is not provided to upper left and right corner portions of the display panel which is relatively far from the light source, there is a problem that the upper left and right corner portions of a screen are viewed to be relatively dark as compared to other portions of the screen.

To solve this problem, according to the related art, a pattern of a predetermined shape is formed on the light guide plate to reinforce light required on the upper left and right portions of the display panel. However, such a solution causes a problem that the light to be provided to other portions of the display panel becomes insufficient and a step is visible on the screen.

<CIT> discloses a display apparatus according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a display apparatus according to claim <NUM>. Preferred features are set out in the dependent claims.

The above and/or other aspects of the disclosure will be more apparent by describing certain embodiments of the disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding of the configuration and effects thereof. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated for convenience of illustration and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes.

The disclosure provides a display capable of reinforcing insufficient light of corner portions of a display panel at the same time of minimizing an occurrence of a step of a display screen by exposing a portion of a side surface of the light guide plate through a holder structure in which a concave portion is formed.

Terms such as 'first', 'second', etc. can be used to describe various components, but the components are not to be construed as being limited to the terms. These terms may only be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, the 'first' component may be named the 'second' component and the 'second' component may also be similarly named the 'first' component without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

The terms used herein, including technical terms, have the same meanings as terms that are generally understood by those skilled in the art, as long as the terms are not explicitly defined differently.

Hereinafter, a structure and an operation of a display according to an embodiment will be sequentially described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a perspective view of a display according to an embodiment and <FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating the display according to an embodiment.

A display <NUM> includes a display panel <NUM> on which an image is displayed, a diffuser plate <NUM>, a holder <NUM> that supports the display panel <NUM> and a light guide plate <NUM>, the light guide plate <NUM>, a reflective sheet <NUM>, a bottom chassis <NUM>, and a backlight unit <NUM>.

The display panel <NUM> may display various images in the front (a direction of an X axis in <FIG>) in response to an image signal which is input from the outside, and may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The display panel <NUM> may include an upper surface <NUM> and side surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>.

The display panel <NUM> is stacked on an upper surface <NUM> of the diffuser plate <NUM>. The display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM> which are stacked are supported by a supporting portion <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the holder <NUM>. In this case, the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM> may have an area greater than that of the light guide plate <NUM> to be described below.

The diffuser plate <NUM> may diffuse and scatter light emitted from an upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, and diffuses the light emitted from the light guide plate <NUM> to make the overall color and brightness of a screen displayed through the display panel <NUM> uniform.

Further, the upper surface <NUM> or a lower surface (no reference numeral) of the diffuser plate <NUM> may be further coupled with a prism sheet, a protective sheet, a double brightness enhance file (DBEF), and the like.

The prism sheet and the DBEF may increase the brightness by refracting or collecting the light diffused through the diffuser plate <NUM>, and the protective sheet may protect the diffuser plate <NUM>, the prism sheet, the DBEF, and components disposed in the display <NUM> from external shock or foreign materials.

The light guide plate <NUM> may guide light incident from a light source <NUM> to the display panel <NUM>, and convert the light incident from the light source <NUM> into a surface light source having uniform quantity of light to irradiate it toward the display panel <NUM>.

The light guide plate <NUM> may emit uniform light through the upper surface <NUM> (or a light output surface) facing the display panel <NUM> by refracting, reflecting, and scattering the light incident from the light source <NUM> therein.

A plurality of light output patterns are formed on the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, thereby making it possible to make a distribution of the light irradiated through the upper surface <NUM> uniform.

The light guide plate <NUM> may be formed of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), or the like.

The light guide plate <NUM> is stacked on an upper surface <NUM> of the reflective sheet <NUM>. The light guide plate <NUM> and the reflective sheet <NUM> which are stacked are fixed in the holder <NUM> by a first fixing surface 306a (see <FIG>) and a second fixing surface 306b (see <FIG>) of the holder <NUM>.

The holder <NUM> that supports the display panel <NUM>, the diffuser plate <NUM>, the light guide plate <NUM>, and the reflective sheet <NUM> is fixed to the bottom chassis <NUM>.

The reflective sheet <NUM>, which is a configuration capable of reflecting light, may be coupled to the lower surface of the light guide plate <NUM>, and may reflect light toward the lower surface of the light guide plate <NUM> from the inside of the light guide plate <NUM> to the inside of the light guide plate <NUM>. The reflective sheet <NUM> may be formed of polymer, which is a material capable of reflecting light.

The reflective sheet <NUM> may have an area greater than that of the light guide plate <NUM>. Accordingly, light emitted from first to fourth side surfaces <NUM> to <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> to be described below may be reflected by the reflective sheet <NUM> and may be diffused toward the display panel <NUM> positioned at the upper side of the light guide plate <NUM>.

The bottom chassis <NUM>, which is a configuration coupled to the holder <NUM>, may fix the display panel <NUM>, the diffuser plate <NUM>, the light guide plate <NUM>, and the reflective sheet <NUM> together with the holder <NUM>. In addition, the bottom chassis <NUM> may be fixed to a wall by using a separate fixing member to fix the display <NUM> to a predetermined position, if necessary.

The backlight unit <NUM> includes a rectangular light guide plate <NUM> disposed behind the display panel <NUM> to output the light to the display panel <NUM>, and a plurality of light sources <NUM> that irradiate the light toward a first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. The plurality of light sources <NUM> are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM> along a length direction of the PCB and are driven by electrical signals from a controller and a driver.

The backlight unit <NUM> may be mounted on the holder <NUM>. However, the backlight unit <NUM> is not limited thereto, but may be mounted on the bottom chassis <NUM>.

<FIG> is a front view illustrating a coupling of a holder, a reflective sheet, and a bottom chassis. In <FIG>, the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM> are omitted for convenience of explanation.

An inner side of the holder to be described below refers to an inner portion in which the light guide plate <NUM> coupled to the holder <NUM> is positioned with respect to the holder <NUM>.

The holder <NUM> includes a upper member <NUM>, a lower member <NUM> positioned to face the upper member <NUM>, a left member <NUM> connecting one end of the upper member <NUM> with one end of the lower member <NUM>, and a right member <NUM> connecting the other end of the upper member <NUM> with the other end of the lower member <NUM>. The upper member <NUM> is disposed at a position facing a second side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the light guide plate <NUM> to fix the upper surface <NUM> which is adjacent to the second side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the light guide plate <NUM>, and the lower member <NUM> is disposed at a position facing the first side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) to fix the upper surface <NUM> which is adjacent to the first side surface of the light guide plate <NUM>.

The left member <NUM> is disposed at a position facing a third side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the light guide plate <NUM>, and the right member <NUM> is disposed at a positioned at a position facing a fourth side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the light guide plate <NUM>. The left member <NUM> and the right member <NUM> may also fix the third and fourth side surfaces <NUM> and <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, but are not limited thereto, and may be disposed to expose the third and fourth side surfaces <NUM> and <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> which is adjacent to the third and fourth side surfaces <NUM> and <NUM>.

The upper member <NUM>, the lower member <NUM>, the left member <NUM>, and the right member <NUM> that configure the holder <NUM> may be separately manufactured and may be coupled integrally when being assembled to the bottom chassis.

An inner side surface of the holder <NUM> may include an inclined surface 300a (see <FIG>) which is inclined at a predetermined angle in a direction of an edge at which the lower surface (no reference numeral) of the display panel <NUM> and the side surfaces <NUM> to <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the display panel <NUM> are in contact with each other from an edge at which the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and the first to fourth side surfaces <NUM> to <NUM> are in contact with each other. The holder <NUM> including the inclined surface 300a may be formed of a material that easily reflects light. Accordingly, the light diffused from the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> is guided to the lower surface (no reference numeral) of the display panel <NUM> along the inclined surface 300a of the holder <NUM>, thereby making it possible to efficiently diffuse and scatter the light to the display panel <NUM>.

The inclined surface 300a may be formed in a curved surface, if necessary. Accordingly, the light diffused toward the display panel <NUM> is guided and reflected in a predetermined direction, thereby making it possible to efficiently scan the light in a direction of the display panel <NUM>.

The holder <NUM> includes a concave portion <NUM> that exposes at least a portion of the second side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) which is positioned to be opposite to the first side surface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the light guide plate <NUM>.

The concave portion <NUM> may be formed in both side portions of an inner side of the upper member <NUM> in a direction from the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> to the second side surface <NUM> thereof. Here, the both side portion of the inner side of the upper member <NUM> mean positions which are adjacent to the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and are adjacent to both end portions of the upper member <NUM>. At least two concave portions <NUM> may be formed in the upper member <NUM>, if necessary.

The concave portions <NUM> which are adjacent to the left member <NUM> and the right member <NUM> are the same configuration as each other, and only the concave portion <NUM> which is adjacent to the right member <NUM> will be described below for convenience of explanation.

The light scanned from the light source <NUM> is scanned to the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, such that the light is diffused to the display panel <NUM> through the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. In this case, the light scanned to the light guide plate <NUM> may also be diffused through the second side surface <NUM>, and the light diffused to the second side surface <NUM> by the concave portion <NUM> that exposes the second side surface <NUM> toward the display panel <NUM> may also be diffused to corner portions of the display panel <NUM>. Accordingly, insufficient light of the corner portions of the display panel <NUM> may be reinforced. In addition, the light scanned to the light guide plate <NUM> is also diffused through the upper surface <NUM> and the concave portion <NUM> also exposes a portion of the upper surface <NUM> which is adjacent to the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> toward the display panel <NUM>, thereby making it possible to reinforce the insufficient light of the corner portions of the display panel <NUM>.

Hereinafter, a shape of the concave portion <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG> are enlarged views of a portion A indicated in <FIG>.

The concave portion <NUM> may include a first edge 310a connected to an inner side edge 301a of the upper member <NUM> of the holder <NUM>, and a second edge 310b connected to the first edge 310a and positioned to be closer to one end 301b of the upper member <NUM> than the first edge 310a. Accordingly, the inner side edge 301a of the upper member <NUM>, the first edge 310a, and the second edge 310b are continuously connected to each other, and the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> is push-fixed by a portion of the inner side edge 301a of the upper member <NUM> and the first edge 310a. In addition, the inner side edge 301a, the first edge 310a, and the second edge 310b are connected to the inclined surface 301a (see <FIG>) of the upper member <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the first edge 310a may be formed in straight line which is an oblique direction, and the second edge 310b may be disposed to be parallel to the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. Accordingly, a portion of the concave portion <NUM> may fix the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and expose a portion of the second surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> in the direction of the display panel <NUM>.

<FIG> are enlarged views that each illustrate modified examples of a concave portion illustrated in <FIG>. Like components are denoted with like reference numbers and a description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to <FIG>, the upper member <NUM> has an inner side vertical edge 301c perpendicular to the inner side edge 301a. The first edge <NUM> is formed to be perpendicular to the inner side vertical edge 301c and is disposed to be parallel to the inner side edge 301a while having a predetermined step. The concave portion <NUM> is formed as a first edge <NUM>. Accordingly, the concave portion <NUM> may expose a larger portion of the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> as compared to the concave portion <NUM> of <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the first edge 330a is formed in a curved line. Accordingly, the inclined surfaces 300a of the upper member <NUM> connected to the inner side edge 301a, the first edge 330a, and the second edge 330b may be smoothly connected to each other without the line being suddenly changed while exposing the larger portion of the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. However, the first edge 330a is not limited thereto, but at least one of the first edge 330a and the second edge 330b may be formed in a curved line. In this case, a curvature center of the curved line may be positioned inside of the holder <NUM>.

<FIG> are enlarged views that each illustrate other modified examples of the concave portion illustrated in <FIG>. Like components are denoted with like reference numbers and a description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to <FIG>, a concave portion <NUM> may be formed as a first edge <NUM>, and referring to <FIG>, the first edge <NUM> of a concave portion <NUM> may be formed in a curved line. As described above, the concave portions <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> are enough as long as they expose a portion of the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, and may have various shapes.

<FIG> is an enlarged view that illustrates still another modified example of the concave portion illustrated in <FIG>.

The concave portion <NUM> may include a protrusion <NUM> formed in an inner side direction of the holder <NUM>. When the concave portion <NUM> is formed largely to expose the second side surface <NUM> in the direction of the display panel <NUM>, the protrusion <NUM> may be formed on a portion of the concave portion <NUM> to fix the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. However, the protrusion <NUM> may have a small cross-section area in order not to greatly interfere with the light diffused from the upper surface <NUM> and the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. Accordingly, the concave portion <NUM> may stably fix the light guide plate <NUM>, and may expose a large portion of the second side surface <NUM> in the direction of the display panel <NUM>.

Hereinafter, an operation of the display according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B indicated in <FIG> and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along a line C-C indicated in <FIG>. Like components are denoted with like reference numbers and a description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to <FIG>, the light source <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the backlight unit <NUM> fixed by the holder <NUM> irradiates light to the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. The irradiated light passes through the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. A portion of the light scanned into the light guide plate <NUM> is directed to the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and this light is diffused to the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM>. The other portion of the light scanned into the light guide plate <NUM> is directed to the lower surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, and this light is reflected by the reflective sheet <NUM> positioned on the lower surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and is diffused toward the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. Still another portion of the light scanned into the light guide plate <NUM> passes through the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. Thereafter, the light passing through the second side surface <NUM> is reflected by a reflective surface <NUM> of the holder <NUM> disposed at a position facing the second side surface <NUM>, is again incident into the second side surface <NUM>, and passes through the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>.

In this case, the reflective surface <NUM> may be formed of a material having high reflectivity or may be attached with a separate reflective member.

Referring to <FIG>, the light source <NUM> of the backlight unit <NUM> fixed by the holder <NUM> irradiates light to the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. The irradiated light passes through the first side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>. A portion of the light scanned into the light guide plate <NUM> is directed to the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and this light is diffused to the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM>. The other portion of the light scanned into the light guide plate <NUM> is directed to the lower surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>, and this light is reflected by the reflective sheet <NUM> positioned on the lower surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> and is diffused toward the upper surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM>.

The light passing through the second side surface <NUM> of the light guide plate <NUM> may be naturally diffracted by the concave portion <NUM> that exposes the second side surface <NUM> in the direction of the display panel <NUM>, and the diffracted light may be diffused to the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM>. A portion of the light passing through the second side surface <NUM> may be reflected by a reflective surface 300c formed at a position facing the second side surface <NUM> and may be diffused to the display panel <NUM> and the diffuser plate <NUM>.

Accordingly, when the concave portion <NUM> is formed in the upper member <NUM>, quantity of light diffused to corner portions of the display panel <NUM> having an optical distance spaced apart from the light source <NUM> may be increased and insufficient light of the corner portions of the display panel <NUM> may be reinforced.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a modified example of a holder illustrated in <FIG>.

The second edge 310b (see <FIG>) extends from the inclined surface 300a to a lower side of the light guide plate.

Claim 1:
A display apparatus comprising:
a display panel (<NUM>) configured to display an image;
a backlight (<NUM>) comprising:
a light guide plate (<NUM>) disposed behind the display panel configured to output light to the display panel; and
a light source (<NUM>) configured to irradiate the light to a first side surface (<NUM>) of the light guide plate; and
a holder (<NUM>) configured to support the display panel (<NUM>) and the light guide plate (<NUM>), the holder comprising a concave portion (<NUM>);
characterized in that:
the area of the light guide plate (<NUM>) is smaller than that of the display panel (<NUM>); and
the concave portion (<NUM>) exposes at least a portion of a second side surface (<NUM>) of the light guide plate (<NUM>) positioned to be opposite to the first side surface (<NUM>) of the light guide plate.