Patent ID: 7762707

Claim:
A backlight unit having a light source to illuminate light to a display panel, comprising: a support plate provided in back of the display panel to support the light source; a printed circuit board provided on a first region of the support plate and opposite to the display panel with respect to the support plate to drive the light source; a heat discharging member provided on a second region of the support plate and opposite to the display panel with respect to the support plate to discharge heat generated from the light source, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LEDs disposed separately from one another in a plurality of rows on the support plate, and wherein the heat discharging member comprises a plurality of heat discharging members disposed on the support plate to correspond to the length of the respective rows of the LEDs; and a plurality of heat pipes provided relative to the support plate to maintain the plurality of LEDs disposed on each row in a uniform temperature and having a hollow shape to insert and seal a working fluid therein, wherein each of the plurality of the heat pipes comprises a first end disposed close to the printed circuit board and a second end disposed away from the printed circuit board.