This application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 102129626, filed on Aug. 19, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and components thereof, and in particular to a display device and a frame thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with great advances in fabrication techniques, portable electronic devices and flat panel displays have been vigorously developed. As flat display devices have advantages such as light weight, thin thickness, small size, and low power consumption, they have become increasingly popular and are widely applied to various electronic devices.
Due to the fact that the frames of conventional flat displays are integrally formed as a single piece, molds for fabricating the frames with various dimensions have to be redeveloped, thus increasing the manufacturing cost. In addition, the development of a larger frame structure requires a large-scale apparatus, resulting in increasing the equipment cost.
In this regard, the present disclosure is desired to provide a display device. The display device includes a number of components, and the components are assembled by suitable means so as to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to some embodiments of the disclosure, the display device includes a display panel, a frame, and a spacer unit. The frame includes a number of sub-frames. The spacer unit is positioned between the display panel and the frame. The spacer unit overlaps with at least one of the boundary regions that are formed between two of the neighboring sub-frames. Specifically, the frame includes a first sub-frame and a second sub-frame. The first sub-frame has a first edge and a first surface. The second sub-frame has a second edge and a first surface. The first edge is adjacent to the second edge, and the first surface and the second surface are faced to the display panel. The spacer unit is across the first edge and the second edge, and the spacer unit is in contact with the first surface and the second surface.
In accordance with some embodiments, the display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a display element unit, and a sealing unit. The display element unit is positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate. The sealing unit is positioned at the outer side of the display element unit, and the sealing unit partially overlaps with the projection of the spacer unit.
In accordance with some embodiments, the display panel further includes an optical film. The optical film is positioned between the frame and the first substrate, and the optical film partially overlaps with the spacer unit.
In accordance with some embodiments, each of the sub-frames has an outer edge and an inner edge parallel with the outer edge. The width of the inner edge is smaller than the width of the outer edge. The distance between the spacer unit and the inner edge is less than or equal to the distance between the spacer unit and the outer edge. Specifically, the first sub-frame has a third edge and a fourth edge, and the first edge is positioned between the third edge and the fourth edge. The width of the third edge is smaller than the width of the fourth edge, and the distance between the spacer unit and the third edge is less than or equal to the distance between the spacer unit and the fourth edge.
In accordance with some embodiments, the display panel includes a connecting unit. The connecting unit connects the first edge to the second edge, and the sub-frames are connected with each other by the connecting unit so as to form the frame. Specifically, the connecting unit connects the first edge to the second edge and connected the first surface to the second surface.
In accordance with some embodiments, the connecting unit is a connecting structure formed by a method including welding, screwing, gluing, interlocking, clamping, or pressure fitting.
In accordance with some embodiments, the spacer unit includes a first spacer structure and a second spacer structure. The first spacer structure is positioned at the first surface, and the second spacer structure is positioned at the second surface, wherein the first spacer structure partially overlaps with the second spacer structure.
In accordance with some embodiments, the display device further includes a housing. The display panel is positioned between the frame and the housing, and the frame and the housing are connected with each other by a fastening portion.
The present disclosure is more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings.
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the disclosure. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the disclosure and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the disclosure is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
Referring to
The rear bezel 110 includes a bottom plate 111 and four side plates 113 perpendicular with the bottom plate 111. The backlight module 120 includes a number of light sources 121 (only one light source 121 is shown in
Adjacent to the light emitting-surface of the light guide plate 123, the display panel 130 is positioned on the housing 129. The display panel 130 includes a first substrate 131, a second substrate 133, a display element unit 138, a sealing unit 139, an optical film 135 connected to the light-receiving side of the first substrate 131, and an optical film 137 connected to the light emitting side of the second substrate 133. The display element unit 138 may include a number of structures such as thin-film transistors (TFT), trace lines, electrodes, capacitors, diodes, liquid crystal layer, OLED layer, and color filters, etc. The sealing unit 139 may be a sealant. In some embodiments, each of the optical films 135 and 137 is a polarization sheet, the optical films 135 and 137 are configured to polarize light emitted from the backlight module 120 so as to enable the display device 100 to display the image. For the purpose of illustration, in the following descriptions, the optical film 135 refers to a lower polarization sheet, and the optical film 137 refers to an upper polarization sheet.
Referring to
The front wall panel 1421 of the first sub-frame 141 is constructed in a trapezoidal shape, and the front wall panel 1421 has a first edge 1411c, a second edge 1411d, a third edge 1411a, and a fourth edge 1411b. The first edge 1411c and the second edge 1411d are two lateral sides of the first sub-frame 141. The third edge 1411a (inner edge) is an upper base of the first sub-frame 141, and the fourth edge 1411b (outer edge) is a lower base of the first sub-frame 141. In the embodiment shown in
The lateral wall panels 1413, 1423, 1433, and 1443 are arranged in order (or selectively connected as a single piece), and the lateral wall panels 1413, 1423, 1433, and 1443 are respectively connected to the edges 1411b, 1421b, 1431b, and 1441b of the front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441. As shown in
The frame 140 is fabricated by a method described below, in accordance with some embodiments. First, the lateral wall panels 1413, 1423, 1433, 1443 are bent toward a direction (as indicated by the arrows shown in
In some embodiments, the first, second, third, and fourth sub-frames 141, 142, 143, and 144 are laser welded by the use of the CO2 laser. During the laser welding process, the surfaces of the sub-frames to be connected are melted so as to form one or more than one connecting unit W (at the front wall panels and the lateral wall panels), as shown in
Referring to
It is noted that, as shown in
On the other hand, in some embodiments, each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 151, 152, 153, and 154 is arranged on the corresponding front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441 in a manner that is close to the third edges 1411a, 1421a, 1431a, and 1441a. For example, the first spacer member 151 arranged on the front wall panel 1411 and the third edge 1411a are spaced by the distance d1, and the first spacer member 151 and the fourth edge 1411b are spaced by the distance d2, the distance d1 is less than the distance d2. For another example, the third spacer member 153 arranged on the front wall panel 1431 and the third edge 1431a are spaced by the distance d3, and the third spacer member 153 and the fourth edge 1431b are spaced by the distance d4, the distance d3 is less than the distance d4. However, the disclosure should not be limited to the embodiments. In some other embodiments, each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 151, 152, 153, and 154 and the corresponding third edges 1411a, 1421a, 1431a, and 1441a are spaced by the distance that is equal to the distance between each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 151, 152, 153, and 154 and the corresponding fourth edges 1411b, 1421b, 1431b, and 1441b.
It is noted that, referring to
In some embodiments, the spacer unit 150 is positioned within a particular tolerance range TR, such that the stress from the spacer unit 150 is absorbed by the sealing member 130, and the stress applied on the display panel 130 from the spacer unit 150 may not cause damage to the display panel 130. In some embodiments, the width of the tolerance range TR is smaller than or equal to the sum of two times of the width D1 of the first spacer member 151 plus the width D2 of the sealing member 139. Namely, the tolerance range TR satisfies the relationship DTR=2D1+D2. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the active area AA of the display panel 130 is an area of the display panel 130 where display pixels formed by switch elements and display elements are positioned. While the active area AA of display panel 130 shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
For example, as shown in
The other embodiments are provided based on the aforesaid observation results. Referring to
In some embodiments, the length of each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 161, 162, 163, and 164 is greater than the length of the corresponding front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441. In addition, each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 161, 162, 163, and 164 partially overlaps with at least one of the boundary regions 210, 220, 230, and 240 between each of the two neighboring front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441.
For example, the first spacer member 161 partially overlaps with the boundary region 210. The first spacer member 161 is across the second edge 1411d of the front wall panel 1411 and the first edge 1421c of the front wall panel 1421, and the first spacer member 161 is in contact with the surface 1411i of the front wall panel 1411 and the surface 1421i of the front wall panel 1421. In some other embodiments, two ends of one single spacer member partially overlap with two boundary regions. That is, the one single spacer is in contact with three front wall panels. In some other non-illustrated embodiments, some spacer members do not overlap with a boundary region, and some spacer members partially overlap with one boundary region or partially overlap with two boundary regions at the same time.
In some embodiments, similar to the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 151, 152, 153, and 154, each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 161, 162, 163, and 164 of the spacer unit 160 is arranged on the corresponding front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441 in a manner that is close to the third edges 1411a, 1421a, 1431a, and 1441a. In addition, each of the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 161, 162, 163, and 164 is positioned between the display panel 130 and the frame 140 in a manner that is within the particular tolerance range TR, as shown in
Through the arrangement mentioned above, the possibility that the relative displacement of each of the two neighboring front wall panels 1411, 1421, 1431, and 1441 is sufficiently reduced. Also, the sealing property of the display device is enhanced since foreign particles and dust can be kept out of the display device by the first, second, third, and fourth spacer members 161, 162, 163, and 164.
For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, each of the two neighboring front wall panels is connected by a connecting unit. For example, referring to
In some other embodiments, two spacer members respectively positioned on two neighboring front wall panels are partially overlapped by each other. For example, referring to
The disclosure provides a frame constructed by multiple sub-frames, the frame overcomes drawbacks and limitations of conventional frame structure which is integrally formed as one piece. Additionally, a spacer unit positioned between a display panel and the frame protects the display panel from being damaged and enhances the structural strength of the frame.
While the disclosure has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102129626 | Aug 2013 | TW | national |