PLANAR LIGHT SOURCE, DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

• US 20090168406A1
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Masanori, KAWASAKI, Osamu, Morimoto, Taiji
• Granted Patent: US 7,965,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/97.300
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133603 with LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133609 including means for improving the color mixing, e.g. white
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133611 including means for improving the brightness uniformity

Abstract

Light-emitting elements are divided into chromaticity groups on the basis of their chromaticity. In a planar light source, light-emitting elements selected from two of the chromaticity groups are alternately provided in a longitudinal direction and in a transverse direction, respectively. The two chromaticity groups are substantially equally away from a target chromaticity in directions reverse to each other. Further, pairs of two of the light-emitting elements belonging to the two chromaticity groups which are separated from each other, are provided so that distances d₂ at which two of the light-emitting elements in each of the pairs are provided are less than distances d₁ at which the pairs are provided.

Claims

1. A planar light source comprising a plurality of light-emitting elements, wherein:

each of the plurality of light-emitting elements is comprised of a combination of a semiconductor light-emitting element for emitting primary light and fluorescent substances for absorbing the primary light and emitting secondary light having a longer wavelength than the primary light, each of the plurality of light-emitting elements emitting combination light of the primary light and the secondary light,

said each of the plurality of light-emitting elements, provided in at least a partial area of the planar light source, belongs to a first chromaticity group or a second chromaticity group on a basis of chromaticity of the combination light,

(i) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the first chromaticity group and a target chromaticity and (ii) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the second chromaticity group and the target chromaticity are substantially equal and are away from the target chromaticity in directions reverse to each other, respectively, and

the light-emitting elements belonging to the first chromaticity group and the light-emitting elements belonging to the second chromaticity group are alternately provided, in said at least a partial area, in a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, respectively.

2. The planar light source according to claim 1, wherein:

intervals at which the light-emitting elements provided in the transverse direction are shorter than intervals at which the light-emitting elements are provided in the longitudinal direction.

7. The planar light source according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of light-emitting elements belong to one of more than three chromaticity groups on a basis of chromaticity of the combination light,

the planar light source, further comprising;

a first area in which (i) light-emitting elements, belonging to a first chromaticity group, which are selected from said more than three chromaticity groups and (ii) light-emitting elements, belonging to a second chromaticity group, which are selected from said more than three chromaticity groups are alternately provided in a transverse direction and in a longitudinal direction, respectively, and

(i) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the first chromaticity group and a target chromaticity and (ii) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the second chromaticity group and the target chromaticity are substantially equal and are away from the target chromaticity in directions reverse to each other, respectively, and

a second area in which light-emitting elements, which do not belong to the first and second chromaticity groups, are provided.

8. The planar light source according to claim 7, wherein:

the planar light source includes at least the first area near its periphery and the second area near its center, and

a difference in chromaticity between the first and second chromaticity groups in the first area is larger than that between the light-emitting elements in the second area.

9. The planar light source according to claim 8, further including a third area between the first area and the second area,

the third area including a plurality of light-emitting elements belonging to two chromaticity groups,

the two chromaticity groups having a difference in chromaticity which is (i) smaller than the difference in chromaticity between the first and second chromaticity groups to which the light-emitting elements constituting the first area belong and (ii) larger than the difference in chromaticity between the chromaticity groups to which the light-emitting elements constituting the second area belong.

10. The planar light source according to claim 1, wherein:

the fluorescent substances are green fluorescent substances having an emission peak at a wavelength of green light and red fluorescent substances having an emission peak at a wavelength of red light.

12. The planar light source according to claim 1, wherein:

the chromaticity groups are divided along a color temperature on a trajectory of a black-body radiation.

14. A display device comprising a planar light source recited in claim 1 and a display panel for displaying an image by driving a plurality of passive pixels,

wherein the planar light source illuminates the display panel.

16. The display device according to claim 14, wherein the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel.

18. The display device according to claim 16, further comprising:

chromaticity correction means for driving the liquid crystal display panel, and

the chromaticity correction means correcting a deviation of chromaticity of light emitted from the planar light source from set chromaticity of the display device at a time of driving the liquid crystal display panel.

3. A planar light source comprising a plurality of light-emitting elements, wherein:

each of the plurality of light-emitting elements is comprised of a combination of a semiconductor light-emitting element for emitting primary light and fluorescent substances for absorbing the primary light and emitting secondary light having a longer wavelength than the primary light, each of the plurality of light-emitting elements emitting combination light of the primary light and the secondary light,

said each of the plurality of light-emitting elements, provided in at least a partial area of the planar light source, belongs to a first chromaticity group or a second chromaticity group on a basis of chromaticity of the combination light,

(i) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the first chromaticity group and a target chromaticity and (ii) a difference between chromaticity of light-emitting elements belonging to the second chromaticity group and the target chromaticity are substantially equal and are away from the target chromaticity in directions reverse to each other, respectively, and

pairs of two of the light-emitting elements belonging to the first and second chromaticity groups, respectively are provided, in said at least a partial area, so that intervals at which two of the light-emitting elements in each of the pairs are provided are less than 0.5 times as long as intervals at which the pairs are provided.

4. The planar light source according to claim 3, wherein:

the intervals at which two of the light-emitting elements in each of the pairs are provided are less than 0.3 times as long as the intervals at which the pairs are provided.

5. The planar light source according to claim 3, wherein:

the pairs are provided in a transverse direction, and

(i) a light-emitting element, belonging to the first chromaticity group, in a first pair of the pairs provided in a transverse direction and (ii) a light-emitting element, belonging to the second chromaticity group, in a second pair adjacent to the first pair are provided so as to be close to each other.

6. The planar light source according to claim 5, wherein

the pairs are provided in the transverse direction and in a longitudinal direction,

(i) a light-emitting element, belonging to the first chromaticity group, in a first pair of the pairs provided in a transverse direction and (ii) a light-emitting element, belonging to the second chromaticity group, in a second pair adjacent to the first pair are provided so as to be close to each, and

(i) a light-emitting element, belonging to the first chromaticity group, in a first pair of the pairs provided in the longitudinal direction and (ii) a light-emitting element, belonging to the second chromaticity group, in a second pair adjacent to the first pair are provided so as to be opposite to each other.

11. The planar light source according to claim 3, wherein:

the fluorescent substances are green fluorescent substances having an emission peak at a wavelength of green light and red fluorescent substances having an emission peak at a wavelength of red light.

13. The planar light source according to claim 3, wherein:

the chromaticity groups are divided along a color temperature on a trajectory of a black-body radiation.

15. A display device comprising a planar light source recited in claim 3 and a display panel for displaying an image by driving a plurality of passive pixels,

wherein the planar light source illuminates the display panel.

17. The display device according to claim 15, wherein

the display panel is a liquid crystal display panel.

19. The display device according to claim 17, further comprising:

chromaticity correction means for driving the liquid crystal display panel, and

the chromaticity correction means correcting a deviation of chromaticity of light emitted from the planar light source from set chromaticity of the display device at a time of driving the liquid crystal display panel.

20. A method for manufacturing a planar light source, comprising the steps of:

preparing a plurality of light-emitting elements,

measuring light emitted from the light-emitting elements via red, green and blue filters,

dividing the light-emitting elements into red, green and blue luminescence intensity groups, for each luminescence intensity group, based on differences between their luminescence intensity and target luminescence intensity, respectively, and

alternately providing light-emitting elements selected from two of the plurality of luminescence intensity groups in a longitudinal direction and in a transverse direction, respectively, the light-emitting elements being selected in a manner such that differences between luminescence intensity of the light-emitting elements and the target luminescence intensity are substantially equal and are away from the target luminescence intensity in directions reverse to each other, respectively.

21. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device whose backlight is a planar light source recited in claim 20,

wherein the red, green and blue filters used in the measurement step has the substantially same characteristic as red, green and blue filters used in the liquid crystal display device, respectively.