Patent Application
20140168570
The present invention relates to a display device, particularly for a motor vehicle, a backlighting element for a display device, a method of manufacture for manufacturing one such reflective element, and a method for manufacturing a display device.
Display devices are known, for example in the Korean patent application no. KR 10 2004 0059605 A. This publication proposes to provide a display device with backlighting. Moreover, a display device is also known from the American publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,429 B1.
A drawback of a device according to the prior art consists in the need to provide a relatively complicated and, consequently, relatively expensive assembly. Another drawback of such a device according to the prior art consists in the duration of the assembly which increases as a function of the number of complementary parts to assemble.
The present invention especially has the aim of palliating the drawbacks of the prior art, and particularly those mentioned above, and also has the aim of proposing a display device that enables simple and very effective assembly of such a device.
According to the invention, this aim is achieved by a display device comprising a display element, the display element being backlit using a light source, a backlighting element being provided to ensure the backlighting of the display element, the backlighting element comprising a light guide part providing the light guide functionality,
With such a display device comprising the backlighting element in a single part, it is advantageously possible to assemble the display device in a simple and effective way. The assembly process of the display device is especially simplified because only the backlighting element has to be considered to produce the backlighting function. Previously, it was necessary to assemble the light guide, a reflective element, and, furthermore, an element serving as a casing.
According to a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the reflective element part is provided in the form of a non-transparent film, and the light guide part is formed in an injection molding step with the reflective element part present in the molding tool.
The advantage of making the reflective element part in the form of a non-transparent film lies in the fact that it is thus possible to make the backlighting element in its light guide part by injection molding in such a way as to keep the reflective element part present in the molding tool. This way of joining two elements in an injection molding step is also called “inmold” or “overmold”.
A preferred improvement of the invention lies in the fact that the reflective element part is provided in the form of a non-transparent film applied to a surface of the light guide part of the backlighting element.
By producing the display device in this way it is advantageously possible to join the light guide part with the reflective element part especially by depositing a film of ink (providing the reflective function) on the light guide part of the backlighting element.
In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the backlighting element comprises a casing element part providing the functionality of encasing the display device and/or the backlighting element.
By producing the display device in this way it is advantageously possible to avoid using an additional element in the assembly of the display device, since the backlighting element contributes the functionalities not only of light guide and reflective element, but also of casing.
Yet another preferred improvement according to the present invention also lies in the fact that the backlighting element comprises a means for optically filtering and/or a means for scattering light.
By such a production method, it is advantageously possible to produce the backlighting element in such a way that it is suitable for a generalized application to various display devices, particularly from various suppliers.
According to yet another preferred embodiment, the display element is a liquid crystal display (LCD), especially comprising thin film transistors (TFTs).
The present invention also relates to a backlighting element for use in a display device according to the present invention.
Moreover, the present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a backlighting element to provide the backlighting of a display element, the backlighting element comprising a light guide part providing the light guide functionality,
Another preferred improvement of the invention lies in the fact that the reflective element part is provided in the form of a non-transparent film, and that the step of joining the reflective element part and the light guide part of the backlighting element comprises the injection molding of the light guide part with the reflective element part present in the molding tool.
Another preferred improvement of the invention lies in the fact that the reflective element part is provided in the form of a non-transparent film applied to a surface of the light guide part of the backlighting element, and that the step of joining the reflective element part and the light guide part of the backlighting element comprises the application of the non-transparent film to a surface of the light guide part of the backlighting element.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description of a particular nonlimiting embodiment of the invention.
The invention will be better understood thanks to the description hereinafter, which concerns preferred embodiments, given by way of nonlimiting examples, and explained with reference to the appended schematic drawings, in which:
In
In a display device 10 according to the present invention, provision is made for a backlighting element which acts as an integral backlighting element. This is shown in
As shown by
Moreover, provision may also be made for the backlighting element 11 to also provide (i.e. in addition to the abovementioned functionalities) the functionality of casing element, particularly in a casing element 14 part of the backlighting elements 11.
The display device 10 comprises a display element 20, especially a liquid crystal display (LCD), and especially one comprising thin film transistors (TFTs).
According to the present invention, the display device 10 comprises a light source, which is especially produced by a light-emitting diode (LED) or a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LED). In the context of the present invention, a plurality of light-emitting diodes is also referred to as light source elements.
The light guide 13 part of the backlighting element 11 has the particular aim of distributing the light emitted by the light source as uniformly as possible over the display surface.
According to the present invention, the light source or the light source elements are connected by way of a printed flex circuit 14.
In the two embodiments according to the present invention, the backlighting element 11 is provided in a single part which makes the method for manufacturing the device easier to assemble and more effective. The backlighting element 11 is produced, at least where its light guide 13 part is concerned, of a transparent material, at least where the light from the light source of the display device 10 is concerned. Provision is especially made for the backlighting element 11 to be made of a plastic material, especially PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate).
PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) is a transparent thermoplastic the monomer of which is methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA may be molded by compression molding, injection molding, casting, blow molding, or extrusion.)
Provision is especially made for the backlighting element 11 to be completely made of a PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) material or for the light guide 13 part of the backlighting element 11 to be made of a PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) material, and for the casing element 14 part to be made of a non-transparent material, for example of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).
The backlighting element 11 is especially formed by an injection molding step. In this step of manufacturing the backlighting element 11, provision is made, in a first embodiment according to the present invention (shown in
In the second embodiment of the backlighting element 11 according to the present invention (shown in FIG. 3,), a non-transparent film, especially a film of one color, and especially a film of ink, is applied or deposited on a surface of the light guide 13 part of the backlighting element 11 after the backlighting element 11 has been formed, especially using an injection molding step.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2011 100 139.9 | Apr 2011 | DE | national |
| 11/03311 | Oct 2011 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP12/01580 | 4/12/2012 | WO | 00 | 1/30/2014 |
