Backlight unit and liquid crystal display

• US 8,493,314 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohashi, Yusuke, Saitoh, Yukito, Hirakata, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): MA, CALVIN
• Application Number:
  US12/664,009
• Publication Number:
  US 20100188324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 345/101, 345/102, 349/62, 349/64, 362/600, 362/620, 385/146
• US Class Current: 345/102
• 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 1/133613 characterized by the sequence of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0233 Improving the luminance or brightness uniformity across the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0285 using tables for spatial correction of display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/041 Temperature compensation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0633 by amplitude modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3413 Details of control of colour illumination sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3426 the different display panel areas being distributed in two dimensions, e.g. matrix

Abstract

Disclosed are a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display capable of improving viewing angle dependency of tint of a liquid crystal display image, thereby obtaining a high-quality liquid crystal display image with no tint when viewed from a slanting direction. A backlight unit 200 of a just-beneath type with a plurality of light sources arranged below a light emission surface 38 includes a light emission spectrum controlling unit 53 for controlling separately light emission spectra in a front direction which becomes a normal direction to the light emission surface 38 and a slanting direction inclined at a predetermined angle from the front direction. The plurality of light sources are a plurality of LED light sources which are different in a light emission color, and each LED light source includes a first LED element with the front direction as an optical axis of emission light and a second LED element with the slanting direction as an optical axis of emission light for each light emission color. The light emission spectrum controlling unit 53 changes light emission intensity of the second LED element for each light emission color.

Claims

1. A backlight unit of a just-beneath type with a plurality of light sources below a light emission surface, the backlight unit comprising:

a light emission spectrum controlling unit for separately controlling light emission spectra in a front direction which becomes a normal direction to the light emission surface and a slanting direction inclined at a predetermined angle from the normal direction,

wherein the plurality of light sources are a plurality of LED elements which are different in a light emission color, and each light source independently includes a first LED element with the front direction as an optical axis of emission light and a second LED element with the slanting direction as an optical axis of emission light for each light emission color, and

the light emission spectrum controlling unit changes light emission intensity for the second LED element for each light emission color.

2. The backlight unit according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of multi-directional irradiation units each having the first LED element and the second LED element as a single body are dispersed below the light emission surface.

3. The backlight unit according to claim 2,

wherein the multi-directional irradiation units of light emission colors are arranged in a lattice.

4. The backlight unit according to claim 1,

wherein the light emission surface is divided into a plurality of blocks, and

the light emission spectrum controlling unit controls light emission intensity of the first LED element and the second LED element included in each of the blocks separately for each block.

5. The backlight unit according to claim 1,

wherein an optically-compensatory film having wavelength dependency and transmittance varying according to the position of the light emission surface is arranged on the light emission surface.

6. A liquid crystal display comprising:

the backlight unit according to claim 1; and

a liquid crystal panel arranged facing the backlight unit.

7. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6, further comprising:

a light detection unit provided in the liquid crystal panel for detecting light information from the light source emitted from the liquid crystal panel,

wherein the light emission spectrum controlling unit changes light emission intensity for the second LED element on the basis of the light information detected by the light detection unit.

8. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6, further comprising:

a moisture detection unit provided in the liquid crystal panel for detecting moisture information of the liquid crystal panel,

wherein the light emission spectrum controlling unit changes light emission intensity for the second LED element on the basis of the moisture information detected by the moisture detection unit.

9. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6, further comprising:

a temperature detection unit provided in the liquid crystal panel for detecting temperature information of the liquid crystal panel,

wherein the light emission spectrum controlling unit changes light emission intensity for the second LED element on the basis of the temperature information detected by the temperature detection unit.

10. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6,

wherein an optically-compensatory film having wavelength dependency of transmittance is provided in the liquid crystal panel.

11. The liquid crystal display according to claim 10,

wherein the optically-compensatory film is an optically-compensatory film having transmittance varying according to the position of a display surface.

12. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6,

wherein the second LED element has the optical axes of emission light controlled in two directions substantially equal in an inclination angle with the front direction as the center in a plane parallel to the front direction, and,

the liquid crystal panel is a TN (Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal panel.

13. The liquid crystal display according to claim 6,

wherein the second LED element has the optical axes of emission light controlled in a total of four directions provided by inclining, in a first plane parallel to the front direction, two directions, which are controlled to directions substantially equal in an inclination angle with the front direction as the center, at an angle substantially equal in a direction orthogonal to the first plane with the first plane as the center, and

the liquid crystal panel is a VA (Vertically Aligned) liquid crystal panel.