Engineering report – Television

Mr. Riccardi ∙ Taha Kafil-Hussain

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Table Of Contents

Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................4
Analysis:...................................................................................................................................................5
Developments in, technology and their impacts on the process of design and manufacturing of
chosen item..........................................................................................................................................5
Explanation and classification of the materials used in the product, component by component........7
Conclusion:...............................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography:..........................................................................................................................................10

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 Abstract

Within this report I will be stating upon the developments that have been made to the television as well as in
detail explaining the way each development worked and its effect on the use of the product, the way the public
reacted and the effect on the future developments. My report will be based on research conducted over the
internet and will be presented in the format of an engineering report. Research will be conducted using reliable
source on the internet.

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 Introduction

Over the years there have been many updates to the television from being a monitor that required a satellite box,
to being a bulky object that was unreliable, to being a thin device that can process images and do minor
corrections to being a full computing device with a web browser and app store. I will be in detail explaining how
each development was introduced and which details influenced this change. Other investigation that I will
conduct is, will include which company influenced the change and which company dominated the market at the
time of change. I will also find out data for the maximum specifications of the panels used and the average size of
the television unit that could be bought.
This report will be focusing on the technology of the television. The television is an electronic appliance in many
homes that receives radio signals that are sent from national or regional television stations. The television then
process the data it receives to produce high quality images in rapid succession to create the effect that an object is
moving across a screen. The television is used in many scenarios such as showing live tv broadcasts, display
videos from streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, as a large screen to display power points in business
meetings, and to be used a display/notice boards that deliver important information to the consumer

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 Analysis:
Developments in, technology and their impacts on the process of design and
manufacturing of chosen item.

Back in the late 1800’s an inventor by the name of Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, created a disk with holes at
specific distances from the center to provide a moving scan of an image. The way this technology
worked is that by spinning the disk the hole only allowed a user to see part of the image and due to the
persistence of vision when the next hole passed, the images looked stitched together and thus began to
create the whole image. The original disk had eighteen holes and thus could produce an image that had a
vertical height of eighteen lines. In modern day society this method of projection is antique and doesn’t
work as good as some of the technologies that we have today.
After a few years, an inventor by the name of John Logie Baird, created a more sophisticated version of
the television that used the Nipkow Disk. Baird used a spotlight to focus the light onto the subject and
used a Nipkow disk with more holes to achieve more scan lines, to produce a smother image. Bairds
machine, came in two parts, A receiver and a transmitter. The transmitter included some Light-sensitive
detector which would turn the light beams shining through the holes into a voltage output that can be
sent through wires to a receiver that used a lamp and a disk that had the same number of holes and spun
in sync with the transmitting device to relay the transmitted image. If the disks were out of sync, the
receiver would not show the desired image.
Bairds device was basic and was not very practical. Not long after Baird’s televisor, electronic television
came into existence. Although who should be name sole inventor is a debate, there were two major
contributing factors. The invention of the cathode ray tube (also known as the “Braun tube”) by Karl
Ferdinand Braun, and the invention of the Nipkow disks from earlier models of the TV. The us if a
combination of these two made the first electric television. The first television used a cathode-ray tube
that produced the light, though the refreshing of the image was still done by a Nipkow disk. This method
was fine and didn’t create a big enough leap in technology.
The first major leap was when people used magnets to move the beam of light from a cathode-ray tube.
The magnets used were a form of electro-magnets which would attract the ray of negatively charged
particles. Because of the way that the beam was bent, CRT (cathode-ray tube) televisions had a convex
screen.

After the cathode ray tube, came the liquid crystal display. It came to life after a series of discoveries.
Liquid Crystals were discovered by an Australian botanist who removed them from the cholesterol of
carrots. After a mere seventy-four years, a researcher by the name of Richard Williams managed to
generate a pattern using these crystals by applying voltage to them. The true development of liquid crystal
displays is scattered as there were many people who contributed to research. Liquid crystal displays
evolved from being used in a passive form to being used in an active form. Being used in the passive
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form, means that the liquid crystal display would not have lighting or be coloured as the only objective
was to either block or pass light through. Active-matrix LCDs are an active form of display where colour
was incorporated by having an LCD that could control its sub-pixels. The liquid crystal display works by
having a sheet of electrodes and a polarizing filter on each side of the display layer. The electrodes are
aligned so that they are perpendicular to one another. This works as when there is electricity applied to
the liquid crystal layer and the structure moves, it forms a helix structure to block the light from passing
in that specific area. The colour of a display works by having either a coloured diffuser layer or having
individual sub-pixels that are individually lit to produce the colour. Colour twisted nematic displays use
the variation in twist of the liquid crystal to change the brightness of the colour and can either use a sub-
pixel design or color filter design for colour. This kind of panel was invented in 1983. Another form of
display that was mainly used in projectors was called 3lcd it used dichroic mirrors to separate the light
and then rejoin it at the lens to produce the image. The 3lcd display was invented by Epson in the 1980’s.
During the time of liquid crystal displays which came out in 1988 there were other forms of tv’s such as
plasmas, which operated in the same method as CRT’s although used a plasma gas instead of a cathode
ray, and digital light processing tv which used little mirrors that will tilt towards or away from a light
source to create an image. Digital light projection tv’s worked in a similar way to mosaics, where the
individual colors/pictures up close don’t make sense though when zoomed out, you can see the total
picture. This form of image manipulation is used mainly in home theater setups with projectors. After the
Cathode ray tube televisions, many advancements were made in a short time causing there to be a variety
of available technologies that were adapted into products.

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Explanation and classification of the materials used in the product, component by
component.

material component Classification

steel alloy Internal frame; the part of tv to Metal – ferrous – alloys
(steel, manganese, nickel) which the lcd panel and the PCB is
mounted to.
Gold & copper Traces on the PCB and the sockets Metals – non-ferrous
for the connectors and wires in
between the PCB and connectors
poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) Diffusion layer in lcd screen Non-metal – polymers –
thermoplastics – amorphous
High-impact Polystyrene (HIPS) The outer frame of the television Non-metals – polymers –
thermoplastic – amorphous
glass Covering the screen Non-metals – ceramics –
amorphous
Fiberglass The PCB itself is made from this Non-metals – composites – fiber
reinforced plastics – glass
reinforced plastics

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Relationship between properties, structure, uses and applications of materials in a
kettle’s components and parts.

A television has many components, that require different properties to successfully complete their jobs.
Components such as the panel, connectors, PCB, and frame. Because there are many manufacturers of the
television all trying to outplay each other, there is only a guide to what properties a material must have to be
successfully integrated into the TV.

One of the most important parts of the television is the internal frame, that is usually made of a strong metal alloy.
The internal frame is an integral piece in the television as it must support the weight of the other components
while also being light to reduce the strain on the mounting hardware. Many televisions that have the option to be
mounted onto a third-party accessory, will use screws that connect to the internal frame.
The outer casing is a part of the television that hides the internal components and protects them from dust. This
component is usually made from a plastic compound as it must be tough, hard, and durable while also being easy
to mold. The main job of the external casing is to protect the TV and minimize the damage from an object. The
outer casing is also a decorative piece meant to give the television its shape.
Parts such as the PCB, traces, and coils should all be made of high-quality materials that are durable. These parts
are what drive the television and are an integral piece to the function of the television.
Parts such as the glass that protects the LCD panel must be hard as it is to withstand a mixture of abuse from oily
hands to chemicals and dust. This part is usually made of compound glass that has either a special coating or a
layer of plastic.

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Manufacturing Properties

Material Properties - attributes Suitability

Fiberglass Glass is a good insulator, traces This is suitable as it allows the
on the PCB cannot be shorted PCB to fitted with more traces
by another trace that are packed closer
together.
Steel Yield strength, tensile strength, Steel has useful features that
Ductility – the amount of stress when alloyed with some other
the material can handle before materials makes for a strong
it deforms/breaks. and light internal frame, which
everything is situated to.
Gold Consistent conductivity, easy Because of golds resistance to
solderability, resistance to corrosion, it is a suitable metal
corrosion to use for connectors. Another
factor of gold is having
consistent conductivity which is
important when transporting
display data
PMMA Outstanding optical properties, Being resistant to scratching
is resistant to scratching, rigid means that the LCD will always
and has dimensional stability, have an equal backlight.
Dimensional stability is
required as LED’s that produce
the backlight can get hot and it
is required that the sheet stay
intact with as little blemishes as
possible
HIPS Good dimensional stability, Having good resistance to heat
easily processed and machined, is required as the home and
cost effective, resistance to the components of the
gamma radiation television can get hot, and the
cover should keep its form in
all scenarios. Being amorphous
it is easy to paint, which is a
good factor for productions as
they can produce different
colors of the same tv, meeting
more peoples wants.

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 Conclusion:
There have been a great many developments and innovations that have led to the creation of the television.
Inventions such as the Nipkow Disk which enabled video to be broadcasted from one room to another, while
inventions such as the cathode ray caused the revolution of the electric television. The cathode ray was a large
turning point in the history of televisions as it symbolized a generation of reliability and innovation. The
continuous innovations in technology affected not only the brand name and market share, but also created a
customer base. As time continued, cultures and trends began being set with scheduled programs, and different
channels. Other things such as development on a more practical implementation of the tv continued and the
quality of televisions also changed, going from a vertical resolution of 13 to a vertical resolution of 4,320. That
gap puts into perspective the amount of innovation that has been made. Apart from an increase in resolution, and
the better methods of transporting an image, we have also increased the need for graphics processing and
increased the realism in artificial graphics overtime. It is proven that we have innovated and will continue to
innovate, pushing the technology to its limits and beyond.

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Bibliography:

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