Fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel

Claim 2

A fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel having two parallel side edges, comprising: a fluorescent lamp having a glass tube having a center axis and two opposite ends and provided with electrodes at said opposite ends, a fluorescent layer formed over an inner surface of said glass tube, and mercury and a rare gas sealed in said glass tube; and a light-shading patterned layer formed on a circumferential part of a surface of said glass tube so as to effect a substantially uniform luminance on said display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the display panel such that said display panel is parallelly disposed to the center axis of said glass tube and illuminated through said light-shading patterned layer by said fluorescent lamp, said circumferential part facing the display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted and wherein said part is defined as that part of said surface between two lines on said surface defined by a radial intersection of imaginary planes therethrough, each plane including said center axis and a respective one of said side edges thereby effecting in substantially uniform distribution of luminance comfort at viewing angles other than perpendicular to the display panel.

Claim 3

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by applying a material having a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp directly onto an outer surface of said glass tube by printing.

Claim 4

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by sticking a transparent film on which a material having a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp is printed, onto an outer surface of said glass tube.

Claim 5

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, in which said light-shading patterned layer includes round patterns.

Claim 6

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said display panel comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

Claim 7

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising a diffusion means parallelly disposed on the inner surface of said display panel for dispersing and radiating the light from said lamp so as to result in an increase in the visual angle.

Claim 8

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said light-shading patterned layer includes one of said opaque circles, opaque triangular areas, opaque square areas or opaque hexagonal areas.

Claim 9

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising a reflector with a reflecting surface facing the display panel and being disposed so as to reflect incident light from said fluorescent lamp to said display panel.

Claim 10

A fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel having two parallel side edges and which has an outer surface and an inner surface, comprising: a fluorescent lamp including a glass tube having a center axis and two opposite ends and provided with electrodes at said opposite ends, a fluorescent layer formed over an inner surface of said glass tube, and wherein said glass tube is sealed and having therein mercury and a rare gas; and a light-shading patterned layer disposed on a circumferential part of the outer surface of said glass tube, said patterned layer including a plurality of rows of predetermined pattern shapes along a length of the surface of said glass tube in a direction substantially along said center axis wherein rows of the pattern shapes located on the circumferential surface of said glass tube nearest the inner surface of the display panel having the largest dimensioned pattern shapes of said patterned layer so as to make luminance substantially uniform on said display panel when said fluorescent lam pis mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the display panel wherein said display panel is parallelly disposed to the cetner axis of said glass tube and illuminated through said light-shading patterned layer by said fluorescent lamp, said circumferential part facing the display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted and wherein said part is defined as that part of said surface between two lines on said surface defined by a radial intersection of imaginary planes therethrough, each plane including said center axis and a respective one of said side edges.

Claim 11

A fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel having two parallel side edges and which has an outer surface and an inner surface, comprising: a fluorescent lamp including a glass tube having a center axis and two opposite ends and provided with electrodes at said opposite ends, a fluorescent layer formed over an inner surface of said glass tube, and wherein said glass tube is sealed and having therein mercury and a rare gas; and a light-shading patterned layer disposed on a circumferential part of the outer surface of said glass tube, said patterned layer including a plurality of rows of predetermined pattern shapes along a length of the surface of said glass tube in a direction substantially along said center axis wherein rows of the pattern shapes located on the circumferential surface of said glass tube nearest the inner surface of the display panel having the largest dimensioned pattern shapes of said patterned layer so as to make luminance substantially uniform on said display panel when said fluorescent lam pis mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the display panel wherein said display panel is parallelly disposed to the cetner axis of said glass tube and illuminated through said light-shading patterned layer by said fluorescent lamp, said circumferential part facing the display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted and wherein said part is defined as that part of said surface between two lines on said surface defined by a radial intersection of imaginary planes therethrough, each plane including said center axis and a respective one of said side edges.

Claim 12

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of parallel rows of predetermined pattern shapes being disposed on said glass surface such that the relative dimensional areas of the respective pattern shapes in successive rows and in a direction away from the location nearest the inner surface of the display panel proportionately decreasing.

Claim 13

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by applying a material having a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp directly onto an outer surface of said glass tube by printing.

Claim 14

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by sticking a transparent film, on which a material having a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp is printed, onto an outer surface of said glass tube.

Claim 15

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, in which said light-shading patterned layer includes round patterns.

Claim 16

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, wherein said display panel comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

Claim 17

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, further comprising a diffusion means parallelly disposed on the inner surface of said display panel for dispersing and radiating the light from said lamp so as to result in an increase in the visual angle.

Claim 18

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by applying a material ahving a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp directly onto an outer surface of said glass tube by printing.

Claim 19

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, in which said light-shading patterned layer is formed by sticking a transparent film, on which a material having a property of absorbing or reflecting light from said fluorescent lamp is printed, onto an outer surface of said glass tube.

Claim 20

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, in which said light-shading patterned layer includes round patterns.

Claim 21

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, wherein said display panel comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

Claim 22

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, further comprising a diffusion means parallelly disposed on the inner surface of said display panel for dispersing and radiating the light from said lamp so as to result in an increase in the visual angle.

Claim 23

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 10, wherein said light-shading patterned layer includes one of opaque circles, opaque triangular areas, opaque square areas or opaque hexagonal areas.

Claim 24

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 9, further comprising a reflector with a reflecting surface facing the display panel and being disposed so as to reflect incident light from said fluorescent lamp to said display panel.

Claim 25

In a fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel having two parallel side edges and which has an outer surface and an inner surface, including a fluorescent lamp having a glass tube having a center axis and two opposite ends and provided with electrodes at said opposite ends, a fluorescent layer formed over an inner surface of said glass tube, and wherein said glass tube being sealed and having therein mercury and a rare gas, the improvement comprising: a light-shading patterned layer disposed on a circumferential part of the outer surface of said glass tube, said patterned layer including a plurality of rows of predetermined pattern shapes along a length of the surface of said glass tube in a direction substantially along said center axis wherein rows of the pattern shapes located on the circumferential surface of said glass tube nearest the inner surface of said display panel having the largest dimensioned pattern shapes of said patterned layered so as to make luminance substantially uniform on said display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the display panel such that said display panel is parallelly disposed to the center axis of said glass tube and illuminated through said light-shading patterned layer by said fluorescent lamp, said circumferential part facing the display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted and wherein said part is defined as that part of said surface between two lines on said surface defined by a radial intersection of imaginary planes therethrough, each plane including said center axis and a respective one of said side edges.

Claim 26

In a fluorescent lamp arrangement for uniformly illuminating a display panel having two parallel side edges and which has an outer surface and an inner surface, including a fluorescent lamp having a glass tube having a center axis and two opposite ends and provided with electrodes at said opposite ends, a fluorescent layer formed over an inner surface of said glass tube, and wherein said glass tube being sealed and having therein mercury and a rare gas, the improvement comprising: a light-shading patterned layer disposed on a circumferential part of the outer surface of said glass tube, said patterned layer including a plurality of rows of predetermined pattern shapes along a length of the surface of said glass tube in a direction substantially along said center axis wherein rows of the pattern shapes located on the circumferential surface of said glass tube nearest the inner surface of said display panel having the largest dimensioned pattern shapes of said patterned layered so as to make luminance substantially uniform on said display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the display panel such that said display panel is parallelly disposed to the center axis of said glass tube and illuminated through said light-shading patterned layer by said fluorescent lamp, said circumferential part facing the display panel when said fluorescent lamp is mounted and wherein said part is defined as that part of said surface between two lines on said surface defined by a radial intersection of imaginary planes therethrough, each plane including said center axis and a respective one of said side edges.

Claim 27

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 23, wherein said plurality of parallel rows of predetermined pattern shapes being disposed on said glass surface such that the relative dimensional areas of the respective pattern shapes in successive rows and in a direction away from the location nearest the inner surface of the display panel proportionately decreasing.

Claim 28

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 24, wherein said light-shading patterned layer includes one of opaque circles, opaque triangular areas, opaque square areas or opaque hexagonal areas.

Claim 29

A fluorescent lamp arrangement according to claim 23, further comprising a reflector with a reflecting surface facing the display panel and being disposed so as to reflect incident light from said fluorescent lamp to said display panel.