Flat panel display unit

• US 6,529,179 B1
• Filed: 07/30/1999
• Issued: 03/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Central Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Takeshi, Murai, Tetsuya, Makino, Tomio, Yamanaka, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jimmy H.
• Application Number:
  US09/363,106
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 345/55, 345/87, 345/102, 345/901, 345/905, 345/84, 345/104, 349/12, 349/61, 349/62, 349/65, 349/149, 349/151, 349/152
• US Class Current: 345/87
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133615 Edge-illuminating devices, i.e. illuminating from the side
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13454 Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0408 Integration of the drivers onto the display substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0297 Special arrangements with multiplexing or demultiplexing of display data in the drivers for data electrodes, in a pre-processing circuitry delivering display data to said drivers or in the matrix panel, e.g. multiplexing plural data signals to one D/A converter or demultiplexing the D/A converter output to multiple columns
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2011 by amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3614 Control of polarity reversal in general
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3688 suitable for active matrices only

Abstract

In this flat panel display unit, a tubular light source is disposed on a thick end face of a light guide plate and a driving circuit substrate is disposed along an end perpendicular to the end face of the light guide plate, thereby achieving thinning or downsizing of the unit.

Claims

1. A flat panel display unit comprising:

a display panel having an electrode substrate including a plurality of horizontal pixel lines, each of the horizontal pixel lines including a plurality of display pixles, a signal line driving circuit portion disposed along the horizontal pixel lines, and a scanning line driving circuit portion disposed perpendicularly to the horizontal pixel lines;

a surface light source unit including a light guide plate disposed on a rear surface side of the display panel and a tubular light source disposed along an end face at a first edge side of the light guide plate, a second edge side of the light guide plate opposing the first edge side, the first edge side having a first thickness and the second edge side having a second thickness thinner than the first thickness of the first edge side; and

a driving circuit substrate disposed along a third edge side of the light guide plate perpendicular to the first edge side,

wherein at least one of the scanning line driving circuit portion and the signal line driving circuit portion in the electrode substrate is disposed along the third edge side of the light guide plate,

a connecting member connects the electrode substrate and the driving circuit substrate for supplying driving signals to the signal line driving circuit portion and the scanning line driving circuit portion, and

thick parts of the driving circuit substrate are disposed along the first thickness of the first side of the light guide plate and thin parts of the driver circuit substrate are disposed along the second thickness of the second side of the light guide plate.

2. A flat panel display unit according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the driving circuit substrate is smaller than a sum of the thickness of the display panel and the thickness of the third edge side of the light guide plate at each place in the vicinity of the third edge side.

3. A flat panel display unit according to claim 1, wherein the driving circuit substrate has interstitial via hole structure.