The present invention relates to a display apparatus in which a protective plate is provided in an opening of a design bezel.
For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a display apparatus including a bezel of a rectangular frame shape at the front edge of a liquid crystal display panel. In the related art, there is a case where a transparent protective plate is further provided on the front surface of a liquid crystal display panel for the purpose of protection against external impact or the like, improvement of design, improvement of optical characteristics, and so on. In this case, the protective plate is provided in an opening of a design bezel, and a seamless design, in which the protective plate and the design bezel of a rectangular frame shape are provided without a step nor a gap, is preferred.
Patent Literature 1: JP 2006-106417 A
However, in the case where the protective plate and the design bezel are made of different materials, when the ambient temperature drops and the two shrink, a difference occurs in the degree of shrinkage due to a difference in the linear expansion coefficient. For example, protective plates are often made of glass, and design bezels are made of resin in many cases. Glass has a low linear expansion coefficient, whereas resin has a large linear expansion coefficient. That is, when a protective plate and a design bezel shrink, the protective plate has a small degree of shrinkage, whereas the design bezel has a large degree of shrinkage. Therefore, in the case where a gap between the protective plate and the design bezel is small, the protective plate and the design bezel come into contact, thereby generating stress around the contact point. In particular, a large stress is generated around the four corners of the opening of the design bezel, which may result in a crack on the front surface that is the design surface of the design bezel.
The present invention has been devised in order to solve the problem as above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a display apparatus less prone to cracks on a front surface of a design bezel.
A display apparatus according to the present invention includes: a design bezel including an opening which penetrates through a front surface and a back surface of the design bezel and one or more ribs raised from the back surface around the opening; a display module including a protective plate provided in the opening, the display module provided behind the design bezel; and a shrinkage suppressing member provided behind the display module, in which the shrinkage suppressing member is sandwiched between the ribs at sides of the shrinkage suppressing member, and has rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member receives a force in a shrinking direction from the design bezel and a linear expansion coefficient smaller than a linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel.
According to the present invention, the ribs rise from the back surface of the design bezel, and the shrinkage suppressing member, having rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel, is sandwiched between the ribs at the sides. Thus, cracks are unlikely to occur on the front surface of the design bezel.
To describe the present invention further in detail, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The display module 3 is provided behind the design bezel 2, and the shrinkage suppressing member 4 is provided behind the display module 3.
The design bezel 2 has a substantially rectangular frame shape and has, substantially at the center thereof, an opening 20 which penetrates through the front surface and the back surface of the design bezel 2. A display surface of the display module 3 is exposed from the opening 20.
The design bezel 2 is made of resin, for example, and the four ribs 22 are formed integrally with the frame main body 21.
The display module 3 includes a protective plate 30 at the foremost side and is a plate-shaped member which has a rectangular shape in a plan view and in which a touch panel 32 which will be described later, a liquid crystal panel 33 which will be described later, an optical member 34 which will be described later, a metal member 35 which will be described later, and other members are modularized by a cover sheet metal 31 having a substantially rectangular frame shape and also serving as an electrostatic countermeasure. The protective plate 30 has a linear expansion coefficient smaller than that of the design bezel 2, and is made of, for example, glass.
The shrinkage suppressing member 4 is a container-like member having a rectangular shape in a plan view and having a space 40 opened toward the front. In the space 40, the display module 3 is housed. The shrinkage suppressing member 4 is made of a metal such as aluminum and has, as will be described later, rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member 4 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2.
The display module 3 includes the protective plate 30, the cover sheet metal 31, the touch panel 32, the liquid crystal panel 33, the optical member 34, the metal member 35, and a resin frame 36.
The protective plate 30 and the touch panel 32 are bonded by a transparent adhesive layer 37. Note that, although not illustrated, a transparent adhesive layer similar to the transparent adhesive layer 37 is provided between the touch panel 32 and the liquid crystal panel 33.
Behind the liquid crystal panel 33, the optical member 34 is provided while a rib 38 extending from the resin frame 36 is interposed therebetween. The optical member 34 includes a light guide plate, an optical sheet, and other components. The metal member 35 is made of aluminum, for example, and is provided so as to cover the back surface and the side surfaces of the optical member 34. The metal member 35 serves as a lid for the display module 3 and also promotes heat radiation.
Although not illustrated, a light emitting body such as a light emitting diode (LED) is provided on the side of the light guide plate of the optical member 34, and light emitted from the light emitting body illuminates the liquid crystal panel 33.
In the assembled state of the display apparatus 1, the protective plate 30 of the display module 3 is provided in the opening 20 of the design bezel 2. Furthermore, in the assembled state of the display apparatus 1, the rear of the display module 3 is covered with the shrinkage suppressing member 4. In this state, the protective plate 30 is provided leaving a small gap S1 from the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2. In addition, the shrinkage suppressing member 4 is in contact with the inner surfaces of the abutment walls 23 of the respective ribs 22 and thereby is lightly press-fitted while sandwiched between the four ribs 22 at the sides of the four corners of the shrinkage suppressing member 4.
When the ambient temperature of the display apparatus 1 drops, each member of the display apparatus 1 shrinks. At that time, the design bezel 2 made of, for example, resin and the protective plate 30 made of, for example, glass are to shrink at different degrees of shrinkage. Specifically, the design bezel 2 made of resin is to shrink more than the protective plate 30 made of glass does.
Meanwhile, the shrinkage suppressing member 4 has rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member 4 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 which is to shrink due to a decrease in temperature, and the shrinkage suppressing member 4 has a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2. Moreover, in the design bezel 2, the inner surfaces of the respective ribs 22 are in contact with the shrinkage suppressing member 4. Therefore, the shrinkage of the design bezel 2 is suppressed by the shrinkage suppressing member 4.
Here,
The display apparatus 100 includes the design bezel 200 and a display module 3, but unlike the display apparatus 1, no shrinkage suppressing member 4 is included. The design bezel 200 includes a frame main body 21 having a substantially rectangular frame shape, but unlike the design bezel 2, no ribs 22 are included. Like the design bezel 2, the design bezel 200 is made of resin, for example.
As illustrated in
In the display apparatus 100, when the ambient temperature drops, the design bezel 200 starts to shrink without being stopped by the ribs 22 or the shrinkage suppressing member 4. Since the design bezel 200 made of resin shrinks more than the protective plate 30 made of glass, the design bezel 200 eventually comes into contact with the side surfaces of the protective plate 30. When this happens, large stress occurs particularly around the four corners of the opening 20 of the design bezel 200, and thus cracks occur around the four corners of the opening 20 on the front surface and the back surface of the design bezel 200. In addition, the protective plate 30 warps by receiving the force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 200, thus resulting in display unevenness.
On the other hand, in the display apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, since the ribs 22 and the shrinkage suppressing member 4 suppress the shrinkage of the design bezel 2, the gap S1 between the protective plate 30 and the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2 is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of stress around the four corners of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2, which can prevent cracks on the front surface that is the design surface of the design bezel 2. In addition, warping of the protective plate 30 is also suppressed, and thus display unevenness is unlikely to occur.
In addition to suppressing the shrinkage of the design bezel 2, the shrinkage suppressing member 4 promotes heat radiation of the display module 3, protects the display module 3, and functions as an electromagnetic shield.
In addition, designing the dimensions so that a gap S3 is formed between the display module 3 and the shrinkage suppressing member 4 as illustrated in
Note that, in the above description, the display apparatus 1 performs display by the liquid crystal method; however, the display apparatus 1 may perform display by the organic electro luminescence (EL) method, the plasma method, or other methods.
Moreover, the shrinkage suppressing member 4 is only required to have rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member 4 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2, and thus the shrinkage suppressing member 4 may be made of resin containing glass filler, resin containing carbon filler, or the like. From the viewpoint of promoting heat radiation of the display module 3, it is more preferable that carbon filler is contained. In addition to being smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2, it is further preferable that the linear expansion coefficient of the shrinkage suppressing member 4 is close to the linear expansion coefficient of the protective plate 30. In the case where the linear expansion coefficient of the shrinkage suppressing member 4 and the linear expansion coefficient of the protective plate 30 are close to each other, the gap S1 between the protective plate 30 and the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2 is maintained at a substantially constant width before and after shrinkage, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design.
In addition, the number and positions of the ribs 22 are not limited to those illustrated in the figures as long as the ribs 22 sandwich the shrinkage suppressing member 4 at the sides of the shrinkage suppressing member 4 to suppress the shrinkage of the design bezel 2.
For example, in addition to the four ribs 22 provided at the four corners as illustrated in the figure, ribs 22 may be provided at the central parts C illustrated in
Alternatively, for example, one annular rib surrounding the entire circumference of the opening 20 may be provided. In this case, the opening 20 may have various shapes such as a substantially oval shape in a plan view.
In addition, as illustrated in a second embodiment which will be described later, a display panel 3A and a backlight 3B may not be modularized as the display module 3 but be assembled to the design bezel 2 as separate members.
In the display module 3, relative sizes of the protective plate 30 and other members may vary. In
Further alternatively, as illustrated in
As described above, according to the display apparatus 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the ribs 22 are provided on the back surface of the design bezel 2, and the shrinkage suppressing member 4, having rigidity that prevents deformation even when the shrinkage suppressing member 4 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2, is sandwiched between the ribs 22 at the sides of the shrinkage suppressing member 4. Therefore, cracks are unlikely to occur on the front surface of the design bezel 2.
Furthermore, each of the ribs 22 is provided around the corresponding one of the four corners of the opening 20 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the shrinkage suppressing member 4 is sandwiched between the ribs 22 at the sides of the four corners of the shrinkage suppressing member 4. By providing the ribs 22 at positions where a particularly large stress is generated, it is possible to effectively prevent cracks from occurring.
In the first embodiment, the case where the shrinkage suppressing member 4 for suppressing shrinkage of the design bezel 2 is a member separate from the display module 3 has been described. In the second embodiment, a case where a member corresponding to the metal member 35 of the display module 3 in the first embodiment is used as a shrinkage suppressing member will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are given to components having the same functions as or corresponding functions to those of components already described in the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified.
The display panel 3A includes a protective plate 30, a touch panel 32, and a liquid crystal panel 33.
The backlight 3B includes an optical member 34, a metal member 35, and a resin frame 36. Like the shrinkage suppressing member 4 of the first embodiment, the metal member 35 has rigidity that prevents deformation even when the metal member 35 receives a force in the shrinking direction from a design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2.
In the case where the display module is structured as in the first embodiment, for example, the display panel 3A, the backlight 3B, and the cover sheet metal 31 are assembled in advance into a module, and then a display apparatus 1a is assembled. However, at that time, the positional relationship between the display panel 3A and the backlight 3B varies due to the tolerance of each of the members included in the display module and the assembling errors at the time of modularization. For this reason, a distance W in
Here,
However, since in the reality the distance W varies as described above, it is difficult to assemble in such a manner as to allow the gap S4 between the protective plate 30 and the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2 to be small and to allow the cover sheet metal 31 to be in contact with the ribs 22 as illustrated in
Therefore, in the second embodiment, the display panel 3A and the backlight 3B are not modularized into a display module, but are assembled to the design bezel 2 as separate members.
As a result, the metal member 35, having rigidity that prevents deformation even when the metal member 35 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2, is sandwiched between the ribs 22 at the sides of the metal member 35 via the resin frame 36, thus allowing the metal member 35 to function as a shrinkage suppressing member that suppresses shrinkage of the design bezel 2.
In this manner, by utilizing the metal member 35 included in the backlight 3B, similar effects to those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, it is facilitated to assemble in such a manner as to allow the gap S4 between the protective plate 30 and the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2 to be small and to allow the cover sheet metal 31 to be in contact with the ribs 22.
Note that a cushion 5 made of urethane, for example, is attached to the back surface of the display panel 3A along the edge. With the cushion 5 sandwiched between the display panel 3A and the backlight 3B, it becomes unlikely for foreign matter to enter between the display panel 3A and the backlight 3B. The cushion 5 may be attached to the front surface of the backlight 3B instead of the back surface of the display panel 3A.
Moreover, the position of the display panel 3A is not fixed with respect to the backlight 3B before being assembled into the display apparatus 1a. Therefore, when the display panel 3A is assembled into the display apparatus 1a, the relative position of the display panel 3A may be misaligned as viewed from the backlight 3B. In consideration of this positional misalignment, it is preferable that the backlight 3B illuminates a wide area so as to be able to illuminate an area in which the display panel 3A may be provided.
Meanwhile, as illustrated in an exploded perspective view of
In addition, as illustrated in
As described above, according to the display apparatus 1a of the second embodiment of the present invention, the ribs 22 are provided on the back surface of the design bezel 2, and the metal member 35, having rigidity that prevents deformation even when the metal member 35 receives a force in the shrinking direction from the design bezel 2 and a linear expansion coefficient that is smaller than the linear expansion coefficient of the design bezel 2, is sandwiched between the ribs 22 at the sides of the metal member 35. Therefore, similar effects to those of the first embodiment can be obtained by utilizing the metal member 35 of the backlight 3B.
In addition, the backlight 3B is fixed with respect to the display panel 3A via the design bezel 2. This facilitates assembling in such a manner as to allow the gap S4 between the protective plate 30 and the edge of the opening 20 of the design bezel 2 to be small and to allow the cover sheet metal 31 to be in contact with the ribs 22.
Furthermore, each of the ribs 22 is provided around the corresponding one of the four corners of the opening 20 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the metal member 35 serving as a shrinkage suppressing member is sandwiched between the ribs 22 at the sides of the four corners of the metal member 35. By providing the ribs 22 at positions where a particularly large stress is generated, it is possible to effectively prevent cracks from occurring.
In addition, the backlight 3B illuminates an area in which the display panel 3A may be provided. As a result, the display panel 3A is more easily illuminated uniformly.
Furthermore, the front bezel 6 made of metal is provided between the design bezel 2 and the display panel 3A. With the front bezel 6, an electrostatic countermeasure can be put in place.
Note that, within the scope of the present invention, the present invention may include a flexible combination of the embodiments, a modification of any component of the embodiments, or an omission of any component in the embodiments.
As described above, the display apparatus according to the present invention is less prone to cracks on the front surface of the design bezel, and therefore is suitable for use as, for example, an in-vehicle display apparatus.
1: Display apparatus, 1a: Display apparatus, 2: Design bezel, 3: Display module, 3A: Display panel, 3B: Backlight, 4: Shrinkage suppressing member, 5: Cushion, 6: Front bezel, 20: Opening, 21: Frame main body, 22: Rib, 23: Abutment wall, 24: Support wall, 25: Thin rib, 30: Protective plate, 31: Cover sheet metal, 32: Touch panel, 33: Liquid crystal panel, 34: Optical member, 35: Metal member, 36: Resin frame, 37: Transparent adhesive layer, 38: Rib, 40: Space, 100: Display apparatus, 200: Design bezel
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2016/086902 | 12/12/2016 | WO | 00 |