Patent Application
20120044435
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to an attachment frame for a display module such as a liquid crystal panel in a portable electronic device, and also relates to a portable electronic device, such as a tablet computer, using the attachment frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a result of increased demand for smaller portable electronic devices and improvements in performance of such devices, reduction of the external dimensions of such devices along with the increase of the amount of display information or the display area have been in higher demand. Such demand is particularly prevalent in smaller portable electronic devices using liquid crystal panels, including tablet computers.
Liquid crystal panels are often attached to a housing of a tablet computer by a bracket. The bracket includes a main connecting part and a plurality of tabs extending from the periphery thereof. The main connecting part and the tabs define a plurality of first mounting holes, and the display and the housing define a plurality of second mounting holes corresponding thereto. The liquid crystal panel, the bracket, and the housing are fixed together by a plurality of fasteners received in the corresponding first and second mounting holes. The main connecting part and the tabs are welded together, and requiring a special clamping device to position the connecting part and the tabs, thus creating difficulty in precise positioning.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.
Referring to
The first bezel 11 is substantially rectangular and defines a rectangular opening 112 for the display module 13. The first bezel 11 is fixed to the rear cover 12 in such a manner that the first bezel 11 and the rear cover 12 cooperatively define a receiving chamber (not labeled) therebetween to receive the display module 13.
The display module 13 includes a liquid display panel (not shown), a light guide plate (not shown), a light reflection plate (not shown), a light diffusion plate (not shown), and an outer frame 131 securing the foregoing components. The outer frame 131 includes four protruding portions 1312 extending from the periphery thereof, each of the protruding portions 1312 defining a first mounting hole 1313.
Referring also to
The second bezel 21, fixed to the rear cover 12, is substantially rectangular and includes a plurality of opposite first sidewalls 212 and a plurality of opposite second sidewalls 213. The first and second sidewalls 212, 213 cooperatively define a receiving bay 214. The receiving bay 214 has dimensions exceeding those of the display module 13 so as to receive the display module 13.
The tabs 22 cooperatively support the display module 13. Each tab 22 curves inward from the inner side of the second bezel 21, and includes a connecting portion 221 connected to the second bezel 21 and a mounting portion 223 fixed to the display module 13.
The mounting portion 223 is substantially flat and parallel to the second bezel 21. The mounting portion 223 has a top surface 2231 and a second mounting hole 2232 defined in the top surface 2231. The top surface 2231 is substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the second bezel 21. The second mounting holes 2232 correspond to the first mounting holes 1313 of the protruding portions 1312. The display module 13 is received in the receiving bay 214 on the top surface 2231 of the mounting portion 223, and a plurality of fasteners 132 is received in the corresponding first and second mounting holes 1313, 2232, and receiving the tabs 22, thus fixing the attachment frame 20 to the rear cover 12.
In the illustrated embodiment, the tabs 22 are formed by punching. Two opposite sides of the tab 22 define a plurality of cutouts 2212 to reduce the deformation of the tabs 22 associated with punching, so that the second bezel 21 and the tabs 22 are easily and accurately manufactured. The connecting portion 221 is depressed in the second bezel 21 and the mounting portion 223 is positioned below the bottom surface of the second bezel 21, such that the outer frame 131 can contact the inner sides of the second bezel 21 without interference with the connecting portions 221, and a compact structure can be obtained.
It should be understood that in other embodiments, the second bezel 21 and the tabs 22 can be integrally formed by die-casting or molding. The second bezel 21 and the tabs 22 can reach a higher contour accuracy by utilizing high-precision die-casting or molds.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments or sacrificing all of its material advantages.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201010256324.3 | Aug 2010 | CN | national |
This application is related to two co-pending U.S. patent applications, Docket Nos. US35236 and US35237, and both entitled “ATTACHMENT FRAME FOR A DISPLAY MODULE AND PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING THE SAME”. The inventor of the above co-pending applications is Bin Dai et al. The co-pending applications have the same assignee as the present application. The disclosures of the above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference.
