JP2004109450A - Display apparatus, video display device, and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display apparatus which is simple in appearance and displays each of a plurality of information easily visibly to an observer. <P>SOLUTION: A frame 102 of a television 100 is provided with a front panel 110 on its front side. The back side of the front panel 110 is provided with a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) panel 120 displaying videos and an EL display panel 200 displaying various parameters. Also, a reflection plate 112 is pasted to the region exclusive of the CRT panel 120 and the EL display panel 200 on the back of the front panel 110. The reflection colors of the reflection plate 112 are approximately the same as the reflection colors of the EL display panel 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a display device that displays a plurality of pieces of information, a video display device, and an electronic device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some conventional television receivers (hereinafter referred to as "televisions") include an operation panel in which various parameters such as a broadcasting channel and a volume level are displayed. . However, in this type of television, since members for indicating parameters are provided on the operation panel in addition to the controls, the external appearance is cluttered.
On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a tendency for a television having a simple appearance to be demanded with an increase in design consciousness of users for home electric appliances.
[0003]
As a technique to cope with this, a television is known in which each operator is mounted on a remote controller (remote operation device) separate from the television main body, while parameters are displayed on a display screen (for example, And Patent Document 1). According to such a television, it is possible to omit an operation element, a member for indicating a parameter, and the like from the main body, and the appearance is simplified.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-341380
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the parameters are displayed on the display screen, the following problems occur. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the parameters are always at the upper right of the screen area (in this example, the broadcast channel “4ch”) or at the lower end of the screen area (audio), or during a certain period after various operations are performed. The output format is “stereo”, and the volume level is “10”.
Separately from this, there is known a television broadcast in which a so-called telop (television opaque project) or subtitles are added to image information in order to promote the understanding of the broadcast contents to a viewer. Among them, the telop is, as shown in FIG. 7B, information including character information and the like, and is displayed at the end of the screen area such as the upper right of the screen display area or the vicinity of the lower end. Similarly, subtitles are generally displayed at the end of the screen area.
[0006]
For this reason, when either the telop or the subtitle and the parameter are displayed at the same time, as shown in FIG. 7C, they are displayed at substantially the same position, and the user (observer) obtains each information. There is a problem that it is difficult to visually recognize the contents. Further, even when the parameter is displayed alone, a problem may occur that the display of the end portion of the image is hindered by the parameter.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, has a simple appearance, and displays a plurality of pieces of information, each of which is easily visible to an observer, and a video display device equipped with the display device. And electronic equipment.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, a display device according to the present invention includes a first display panel for displaying first information, a frame of the first display panel, and a part of the first display panel with respect to a viewing direction of an observer. A frame member including a transmissive portion having a light-transmitting property, and displaying the second information, provided at the rear of the transmissive portion as viewed from an observer, and when not displaying the second information, And a second display panel serving as a reflector having substantially the same reflection color as a region excluding the transmission portion.
According to this configuration, the first information is displayed on the first display panel, while the second information is displayed on the second display panel. For this reason, the observer can easily visually recognize each piece of information. Further, the second display panel is a reflector having substantially the same reflection color as the region other than the transmissive portion of the frame member when not displaying. For this reason, the display device is visually recognized as if it has only the first display panel despite having two display panels. Thus, the appearance of the device equipped with the display device is simplified, and two display panels can be mounted without impairing the design of the device.
Here, it is preferable that the second display panel has a light emitting layer and a reflection layer provided on the back side of the light emitting layer and reflecting external light incident from the observer side.
Further, an image display device according to the present invention includes the display device as a display unit, wherein the first display panel displays an image as the first information, and wherein the second display panel includes Since a character is displayed as the second information, two display panels can be mounted without deteriorating the design of the video display device.
Similarly, since the electronic device according to the present invention includes the display device as a display portion, two display panels can be mounted without impairing the design of the electronic device.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0010]
<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a television according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, a front panel 110 having light transmittance is provided on the front surface (on the observer side) of the frame 102 of the television 100. On the rear side of the front panel 110, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display 122 and an EL (Electroluminescence) display panel 200 are arranged. Among them, the CRT display 122 displays an image, and the CRT panel 120 as a display surface thereof is provided so as to be in contact with the front panel 110.
[0011]
On the other hand, the EL display panel 200 is provided below the CRT panel 120 so as to be in contact with the front panel 110, and has various parameters such as a broadcast channel, a volume level, a contrast ratio setting value, and a color density setting value. Is displayed. The EL display panel 200 displays parameters only for a certain period after an instruction to change the parameter is input at the time of displaying an image on the CRT panel 120, and enters a non-display state after the certain period elapses. That is, in the television 100, only the CRT panel 120 can be displayed.
[0012]
Here, the EL display panel 200 generally has a configuration in which a light emitting layer and a scattering reflection layer 270 functioning as a reflector are stacked in this order from the observer side. For this reason, when external light from the observer enters the EL display panel 200, the external light is reflected by the scattering reflection layer 270 in the EL display panel 200, and the observer turns off the EL display panel 200 during non-display. Is visually recognized as a reflector having a specific reflection color. The configuration of the EL display panel 200 and details of its reflection color will be described later.
[0013]
A reflection plate 112 functioning as a frame of the CRT panel 120 is attached to a region on the rear surface of the front panel 110 other than the CRT panel 120 and the EL display panel 200. The reflection plate 112 is, for example, an aluminum plate, and has a reflection color substantially equal to the reflection color of the EL display panel 200 at the time of non-display. Therefore, an observer who views each of the reflection plate 112 and the EL display panel 200 via the front panel 110 visually recognizes the reflection plate 112 and the EL display panel 200 as if they are the same body.
[0014]
The two speakers 137 output audio signals in a stereo or monaural system. In addition, the television 100 is provided with a remote controller for setting various parameters such as channel operation by a user (observer).
[0015]
Next, an electrical configuration of the television 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, a remote controller 162 includes an operation element such as a push button switch, and transmits an operation signal indicating a parameter designated by a user to the operation signal receiving device 160 from infrared rays. When receiving the operation signal from the remote controller 162, the operation signal receiving device 160 supplies the signal to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 130.
[0016]
The CPU 130 controls the receiving circuit 132, the audio processing circuit 134, the video processing circuit 140, the character generator 150, the scanning circuit 142, and the driving circuit 152 according to the operation signal supplied from the operation signal receiving device 160. The contents of control by the CPU 130 include control for displaying a video on the CRT display 122 and control for displaying a character indicating a parameter on the EL display panel 200.
Note that the CPU 130 has a rewritable memory for storing all parameters, and when an operation signal indicating a change of a certain parameter is supplied, the CPU 130 overwrites and updates the corresponding parameter. When the operation signal indicating the change of the parameter is supplied, the CPU 130 supplies the parameter indicating the broadcast channel and the like stored in the memory to the character generator 150 described later for a certain period thereafter.
[0017]
The receiving circuit 132 supplies a broadcast wave (television signal) received via the antenna 133 to the audio processing circuit 134 and the video processing circuit 140. When receiving the television signal from the receiving circuit 132, the audio processing circuit 134 extracts an audio signal from the television signal and supplies the audio signal to the audio output device 135. The audio output device 135 includes an amplifier, a speaker 137 (see FIG. 1) and the like, and emits the audio signal supplied from the audio processing circuit 134 in a stereo or monaural audio output system.
[0018]
When receiving the television signal from the receiving circuit 132, the video processing circuit 140 extracts a video signal from the television signal and supplies the video signal to the scanning circuit 142. The scanning circuit 142 is a circuit for scanning an electron gun included in the CRT display 122 according to the video signal supplied from the video processing circuit 140, and displays an image based on the video signal on the CRT panel 120.
[0019]
The character generator 150 receives parameters such as a broadcast channel (for example, “4ch”), an audio output level (for example, level “10”), and an audio output format (“stereo” or “monaural”) from the CPU 130. Then, a character (character or symbol) indicating the above is generated as image data and input to the drive circuit 152 as a character signal CS.
The drive circuit 152 drives each pixel included in the EL display panel 200 according to the character signal CS, and displays a character indicating a parameter on the EL display panel 200.
[0020]
Next, a detailed configuration of the EL display panel 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the EL display panel 200. In this figure, a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) 220 for driving an EL element is formed on a substrate 210 such as a colorless and transparent glass by, for example, a low-temperature polysilicon process.
[0021]
The interlayer insulating layer 222 is a layer having optical transparency formed so as to cover the upper surfaces of the substrate 210 and the TFT 220, and has an opening at an electrode portion of the TFT 220. The pixel electrode 230 is a transparent conductive film that is connected to an electrode (one of a source and a drain) of the TFT 220 through the opening and functions as an anode of the EL element.
[0022]
Next, the lower film 240 is made of an inorganic material such as a silicon oxide film, and is formed so as to slightly cover an end portion of the pixel electrode 230 mainly in a gap between the pixel electrodes 230. The bank 242 is a kind of partition having a height of about 1 to 2 μm formed on the upper surface of the lower layer film 240, and is formed by patterning, for example, polyimide or a photocurable resin by photolithography.
[0023]
In a region surrounded by the bank 242, a hole injection layer 250, a light emitting layer 252, and an electron injection layer 254 are stacked in this order from the substrate 210 side. The hole injection layer 250 is formed on the pixel electrode 230 and is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 230. The light-emitting layer 252 is a fluorescent organic compound, and emits light by combining electrons and holes. The electron injection layer 254 is made of, for example, lithium fluoride, and is formed on the light emitting layer 252 by, for example, a vacuum evaporation method.
On the upper surfaces of the electron injection layer 254 and the bank 242, a transparent electrode 260 functioning as a cathode is laminated by sputtering or the like.
[0024]
On the back side of the transparent electrode 260, a scattering reflection layer 270 is formed by electroplating. The scattering reflection layer 270 is so-called matte plating or semi-glossy plating, and is, for example, a metal film such as electrodeposited silver having a large particle size. For this reason, fine irregularities are formed on the surface of the scattering reflection layer 270 on the observer side, and when light enters the scattering reflection layer 270 from the observer side, the light is scattered toward the observer side. reflect. Therefore, when external light enters the EL display panel 200, the external light is reflected while being scattered by the scattering reflection layer 270, and an observer visually recognizes the EL display panel 200 as a matte silver reflector.
In addition, as a method of making the scattering reflection layer 270 non-glossy plating or semi-glossy plating, besides a method using electrodeposited silver, for example, a method of adjusting the amount of brightener to be added to the plating bath is considered.
On the back side of the scattering reflection layer 270, a sealing layer 280 such as a glass plate is provided.
[0025]
Note that, although confirming, the reflection color of the EL display panel 200 is affected by the light transmittance of the light emitting layer 252 and the TFT 220 in addition to the influence of the scattering reflection layer 270, and is different from the reflection color of the scattering reflection layer 270 itself. Is slightly different. Therefore, the above-described reflector 112 (see FIG. 1) is not a scattering reflection layer 270 but a reflector having substantially the same reflection color as the EL display panel 200. Of course, when the EL display panel 200 can be regarded as a reflector substantially the same as the scattering / reflecting layer 270, a member common to the scattering / reflecting layer 270 may be used as the reflector 112.
[0026]
Under such a configuration, when an operation signal indicating a parameter change is input via the remote controller 162 (see FIG. 2), the CPU 130 transmits the parameters stored in the memory to the character generator 150 only for a certain period thereafter. To supply. When the character generator 150 receives the parameter from the CPU 130, it inputs a character signal CS indicating the parameter to the drive circuit 152. Then, the driving circuit 152 responds to the character signal CS supplied from the character generator 150 to form a layer including the hole injection layer 250, the light emitting layer 252, and the electron injection layer 254 included in the EL display panel 200 (see FIG. 3). When a voltage is applied to the light emitting layer 252, light is emitted from the light emitting layer 252, and the light passes through the substrate 210 and is emitted toward an observer located below the EL display panel 200 in the drawing. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, parameters such as the audio output method “stereo”, the volume level “10”, and the broadcast channel “4ch” are displayed on the EL display panel 200.
[0027]
Thus, according to the television 100, the EL display panel 200 for displaying parameters is provided independently of the CRT panel 120 for displaying images. For this reason, it is possible to easily display the parameters to the observer without obstructing the image display.
[0028]
On the other hand, when a certain period elapses after an operation signal is input via remote controller 162, CPU 130 stops supplying parameters to character generator 150, and EL display panel 200 enters a non-display state. When the EL display panel 200 is in the non-display state in this manner, as shown in FIG. 4, when external light from the observer enters the front panel 110, the external light is provided on the back surface of the front panel 110. The reflected light is reflected in substantially the same reflection color on each of the reflecting plate 112 and the EL display panel 200 thus obtained. Therefore, the observer does not need to be aware of the presence of the EL display panel 200. Thus, despite having two display panels, the television 100 is visually recognized as if it had only the CRT panel 120 and its frame (reflection plate 112), and its appearance is simple. It becomes something.
[0029]
Further, according to the television 100, the EL display panel 200 at the time of non-display has the following advantages by being set to the substantially same reflection color as the frame (reflection plate 112) of the CRT panel 120. ing.
Here, it is assumed that the reflection color of the frame and the reflection color of the display panel that displays the parameters are significantly different, that is, they are in a complementary color relationship or their contrast is significantly different. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the display panel 400 that displays the parameters becomes conspicuous in the picture frame (reflection plate 112), and the display panel 400 becomes obstructive to the observer when viewing the image on the CRT panel 120. . That is, there is a problem in that the display panel 400 is installed, so that it is difficult to view an image.
[0030]
On the other hand, according to the television 100 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the EL display panel 200 is substantially the same as the reflector 112 provided on the back surface of the front panel 110 when not displaying. It becomes a reflector having a reflection color. Therefore, the presence of the EL display panel 200 in the frame is not noticeable to the observer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image on the CRT panel 120 from being difficult to see due to the installation of the EL display panel 200.
[0031]
In the above-described embodiment, the CRT panel 120 is applied as the display panel that outputs an image, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the panel for outputting an image may be any device such as an EL display panel, a liquid crystal display panel, or a plasma display panel, as long as it can transmit information to an observer visually. Among them, the liquid crystal display panel is a panel that displays various kinds of information by using a change in light transmittance according to a change in the alignment state of the liquid crystal sandwiched between the two substrates. Can be achieved. In addition, the plasma display panel is a panel that displays various kinds of information by using light emission due to discharge, and is effective in increasing the size of the television 100 in addition to reducing its thickness.
[0032]
<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, the television 100 having the EL display panel 200 provided so as to be visually recognized as a part of the frame of the CRT panel 120 has been described. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, a mobile phone having an EL display panel 200 provided so as to be visually recognized as a part of a frame of a liquid crystal display panel will be described.
[0033]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile phone according to the second embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the mobile phone 300 includes a display unit 340 in addition to a plurality of operation buttons 330, an earpiece 320, and a mouthpiece 310.
Here, the configuration other than the display unit 340 in the mobile phone 300 is substantially the same as the configuration of a general mobile phone having an e-mail transmission / reception function. It is possible to detect the radio wave intensity, the output voltage of the secondary battery, and the like. Further, the mobile phone 300 has a so-called telephone directory function, and stores a telephone number list in which “phone numbers” are associated with “names” for identifying the telephone numbers.
[0034]
Next, the configuration of the display unit 340 will be described.
The frame 302 of the mobile phone 300 is provided with a light-transmitting front panel 342 on the front side (viewer side). On the back side of the front panel 342, a liquid crystal display panel 350 and an EL display panel 200 are provided.
[0035]
Among them, the liquid crystal display panel 350 displays main information in the mobile phone 300 such as a group of names included in a telephone number list and a received e-mail (not shown).
[0036]
On the other hand, the EL display panel 200 displays sub-information on the mobile phone 300, and displays, for example, radio wave conditions, output voltage of a secondary battery indicating the remaining battery level, e-mail reception status, and the like with icons and characters (not shown). Display as The user (observer) can switch on / off the display of the sub information on the EL display panel 200 by operating the operation button 330. Therefore, the mobile phone 300 is configured to be able to display only the liquid crystal display panel 350.
[0037]
The EL display panel 200 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 described above, and has a scattering reflection layer 270 on the back side of the light emitting layer 252. Therefore, the EL display panel 200 is visually recognized as a matte silver reflector when not displaying.
[0038]
Further, a reflection plate 344 is provided in a region on the rear side of the front panel 342 except for the liquid crystal display panel 350 and the EL display panel 200. The reflection plate 344 functions as a frame of the liquid crystal display panel 350 and is a reflector having a reflection color substantially equal to that of the EL display panel 200.
[0039]
With such a configuration, when an instruction to turn on the EL display panel 200 is input via the operation unit 330, the EL display panel 200 displays sub-information as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, when an instruction to turn off the EL display panel 200 is input via the operation button 330, the EL display panel 200 becomes a reflector having substantially the same color as the reflector 344, as shown in FIG. Thus, although the mobile phone 300 has two display panels, the liquid crystal display panel 350 and the EL display panel 200, when the EL display panel 200 is not displayed, it is as if the liquid crystal display panel 350 and its frame It is visually recognized as if the configuration is only the reflection plate 344. Therefore, the appearance of the mobile phone 300 is simplified, and a plurality of display panels can be installed without deteriorating the design.
[0040]
Further, according to the mobile phone 300, when the EL display panel 200 is not displayed, the EL display panel 200 is not conscious by the observer. Therefore, when viewing the liquid crystal display panel 350, the EL display panel 200 does not become an obstacle. That is, the provision of the EL display panel 200 does not make it difficult to see the liquid crystal display panel 350.
[0041]
Note that the on / off switching of the EL display panel 200 may be automatically switched in the mobile phone 300 without depending on a user operation. More specifically, when a radio wave intensity is equal to or lower than a threshold, when an output voltage of a secondary battery is equal to or lower than a threshold, or when a mail is received, a specific situation occurs, and the user is notified of the situation. Only in such a case, a configuration may be adopted in which an image indicating the situation is displayed.
[0042]
The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above, and various applications and modifications can be added to each embodiment.
For example, in each of the embodiments described above, the EL display panel 200 that is visually recognized as matte silver when not displayed is applied as the EL display panel, but the reflection color of the EL display panel 200 can be arbitrarily changed. . For example, in the case of the EL display panel 200 shown in FIG. 3, the reflection color of the EL display panel 200 can be changed by changing the material of the reflection layer (scattering reflection layer 270) provided on the back side of the light emitting layer 252. It is.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the display color is set to be substantially the same as the frame of the first display panel, and the EL display is used as the second display panel provided so as to be visually recognized as a part of the frame. The panel 200 has been described as an example. However, the second display panel is not limited to the EL display panel 200, and the present invention can be arbitrarily applied to any display panel that transmits information to a viewer visually. In addition, in each of the embodiments described above, the number of the second display panels provided in the frame is one, but a configuration in which a plurality of second display panels are provided may be adopted.
[0043]
Furthermore, in each of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, an example in which the display device according to the present invention is applied to the television 100 and the mobile phone 300 has been described. be able to.
Examples of the electronic device include a computer, a viewfinder type / monitor direct-view video tape recorder, a car navigation device, a calculator, and a digital still camera.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a display device which has a simple appearance and displays each of a plurality of pieces of information so as to be easily recognized by an observer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a television according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of the television. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an EL display panel included in the television.
FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing an appearance of the television.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an appearance of the mobile phone.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional television.
FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing a comparative example of the television according to the first embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 TV 102 Frames 110 and 340 Front panels 112 and 344 Reflector 120 CRT panel 137 Speaker 230 CPU
140 image processing circuit 142 scanning circuit 150 character generator 152 driving circuit 200 EL display panel 210 substrate 220 TFT
222 interlayer insulating layer 230 pixel electrode 240 lower film 242 bank 250 hole injection layer 252 light emitting layer 254 electron injection layer 260 transparent electrode 270 scattering reflection layer 280 sealing layer 300 mobile phone 302 ... Frame 340 ... Display unit 342 ... Front panel 344 ... Reflection plate 350 ... Liquid crystal display panel

Claims (4)

A first display panel for displaying first information;
A frame member which becomes a frame of the first display panel and partially includes a transmission portion having light transmissivity in a viewing direction of an observer;
The second information is displayed, and is provided behind the transmission portion as viewed from an observer. When the second information is not displayed, the reflection having substantially the same reflection color as the region of the frame member excluding the transmission portion. A second display panel serving as a body,
A display device comprising: The second display panel includes:
A light-emitting layer,
The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a reflection layer provided on a back side of the light emitting layer and reflecting external light incident from an observer side. A display device according to claim 1 or 2 as a display unit,
The first display panel displays an image as the first information,
The image display device, wherein the second display panel displays a character as the second information. An electronic apparatus comprising the display device according to claim 1 as a display unit.

Images