JP2002366060A - Led(light emitting diode) display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an LED display device having new structure capable of disposing easily the drive substrate formed as a different body from the LED substrate in close vicinity to the LED substrate without hindering the degree of freedom of the curve-shaped design in the LED substrate. SOLUTION: In this display device, a drive substrate 16 in which elements for control controlling the feeding of power to LED elements 18 are mounted on a rigid printed board is provided independently from an LED substrate 14 which is constituted by including a flexible printed board 20 on which the LED elements 18 are mounted or the like and, on the other hand, an elastically deformable supporting member 36 is arranged at the rear side of the LED substrate 14 and the supporting member 36 is made to support the drive substrate 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an LED (Light Emitting Diod).
The present invention relates to an LED display device having a drive board for controlling power supply to e), and more particularly to an LED display device including a curved LED substrate in which a plurality of LED elements are mounted on a flexible printed circuit board. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a light emitting type LED display device in which various kinds of information are displayed by a plurality of LEDs is known. Has a problem that visibility in an oblique direction is inferior and that it is difficult to mount on a curved display surface. In view of this, the present applicant has previously disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-75813, a method of mounting a plurality of LED elements on a flexible printed board and coating a hard transparent resin layer on the surface of the flexible printed board. The disclosed LED display device includes an LED substrate which is attached to a flexible printed circuit board and held in a curved shape by a transparent resin layer. In such an LED display device, by mounting an LED element on a flexible printed board, it is possible to obtain an LED display surface having various curved shapes, and a transparent resin layer is used to form the curved LED display surface for the purpose. Since the shape can be held, the degree of freedom in designing the LED display surface is improved.

By the way, such an LED display device requires a control device for controlling power supply to the LED. However, since such a control device includes an IC or the like, it is formed on a flexible printed circuit board. It is difficult to mount on a mounted LED substrate. Therefore, as described in the above-mentioned publication, for example, a drive board formed by mounting a control element on a hard printed board is adopted.

However, even if a drive board using a hard printed board is employed, it is difficult to support such a drive board by an LED board formed of a flexible printed board, and the drive board is located near the LED board. It was difficult to arrange.

In order to cope with such a problem, generally, the drive board is disposed at a position away from the LED board, and the LED board and the drive board are connected to a large number of lead wires or flat wires. It is made to connect with a cable.

However, since a large number of lead wires and flat cables are bulky and require a lot of space for routing, if a drive board is arranged at a position distant from the LED board, the routing of those leads and the like will be difficult. Another problem is that this requires a lot of space. Further, when a large number of lead wires and flat cables are arranged in a long dimension, there is a problem that productivity and manufacturing cost are deteriorated.

[0007]

Here, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive board formed separately from an LED board by using a curved board in the LED board. An object of the present invention is to provide an LED display device having a novel structure, which can be easily disposed close to an LED substrate without impairing the degree of freedom in shape design.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention which has been made to solve such a problem will be described below. The components employed in each of the embodiments described below can be employed in any combination as possible. In addition, aspects or technical features of the present invention are not limited to those described below, but are described in the entire specification and drawings, or based on the invention ideas that can be understood by those skilled in the art from the descriptions. It should be understood that it is recognized on the basis of.

That is, in a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of LED elements are mounted on a flexible printed circuit board, and a hard transparent resin layer is coated on the surface of the flexible printed circuit board. LE including an LED substrate in which a flexible printed circuit board is held in a curved shape by the transparent resin layer
In the D display device, a drive board that controls power supply to the LED element is provided independently of the LED board, and a support member that can be elastically deformed is provided on a back surface side of the LED board, and the support member is provided. Characterized in that the drive board is held.

The LE having the structure according to the present embodiment as described above.
In the D display device, since the support member is elastically deformable, the support member can be disposed in a shape appropriately corresponding to the shape of the LED substrate,
While supporting the curved shape of the LED board,
It becomes possible to dispose along the ED substrate. Therefore, it is also possible to hold the drive board on the support member and dispose the drive board close to the LED board, whereby the space efficiency can be advantageously improved and the overall compactness can be achieved. . In addition, as the support member, various elastic materials such as a rubber elastic body and foamed urethane can be adopted, and those having electric insulation and heat resistance are particularly desirable. For example, an elastic material such as acrylic rubber is suitably employed. Can be done.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the LED display device having the structure according to the first aspect, a recess is provided in the support member, and the drive board is inserted into the recess. The feature is that it is held. In this embodiment, the drive board can be more stably held at the predetermined position by the recess of the support member.

Furthermore, a third aspect of the present invention is directed to an LED display device having a structure according to the second aspect, wherein the recess is formed by penetrating the support member in a thickness direction. The drive board is accommodated and arranged at a location, and a cover member for covering both side openings of the recess of the support member is provided to prevent the drive board from dropping out of the recess. In this aspect, the drive board is housed in the recess by making good use of the thickness dimension of the support member, thereby securing a space for housing the drive board and reducing the size of the entire LED display device. , Can be achieved in tandem. In addition, considering the shapes of the support member and the recess, it is possible to make the front and back of the support member inconsistent in shape, thereby improving the workability of assembling the support member. The lid member is
For example, one of the lid members may be formed of an LED substrate.

Still further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the LED display device having the structure according to any one of the first to third aspects, in the thickness direction of the support member, the light emitting device is provided.
A hard strength member is provided on the side opposite to the ED substrate, and the support member and the LED substrate are supported by the strength member. In this embodiment,
By adopting a hard strength member, the shape of the display device can be stably held, thereby improving durability and quality stability. In addition, as the strength member, for example, a metal plate such as stainless steel, a hard rigid resin plate, or the like can be suitably adopted. Further, it is also possible to constitute the other lid member in the third aspect by this strength member. Further, the strength member may be any member that can support the support member and the LED board in a predetermined shape and fixed in position, and may have a flat shape or the like in addition to a curved shape corresponding to the LED board.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the LED display device having a structure according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the external dimensions of the support member are set to the LE.
It is characterized in that it is smaller than the outer dimensions of the D substrate. In this aspect, even if the LED board is bent at a large curvature, the support member does not protrude from the outer peripheral edge, and interference with the adjacently arranged LED boards is avoided. It is possible to more advantageously cope with the setting of the curvature to various shapes.

Further, a sixth aspect of the present invention is directed to an LED display device having a structure according to the first to fifth aspects, wherein the LED is disposed on a surface of the LED substrate.
It is characterized in that a translucent cover member having a higher strength than the hard transparent resin layer adhered to the substrate is superposed and disposed. In this embodiment, since the visibility of the non-light emitting LED element from the outside is reduced and the visibility of the light emitting LED element is relatively improved, excellent visibility and design properties are obtained. Can be achieved. In addition, as the cover member, for example, a hard material such as an acrylic resin capable of exhibiting a smoke-based color such as beige or gray can be suitably used. The cover member may be overlapped with the transparent resin layer at a distance from the transparent resin layer, or may be overlapped with the transparent resin layer in close contact with the resin layer. Thus, L
The protection and strength of the ED display device can be improved.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows a plurality of LED display devices 10 as one embodiment of the present invention (in this embodiment, three or more LED display devices 10).
) Is shown. The LED display device 10 has an LED board 14 and a drive board 16, and the plurality of LED elements 18 mounted on the LED board 14 are controlled to be turned on and off by the drive board 16.

More specifically, the LED substrate 14 is formed as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of LED elements 18 for coloring, such as red and green, are mounted on the surface of the flexible printed circuit board 20, and the LED elements 18 are covered. By applying the transparent resin layer 22, the flexible printed circuit board 20 is held in a curved shape by the transparent resin layer 22.

The LED substrate 14 can be manufactured, for example, according to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-75813. It can be curved into a curved shape, for example, an organic insulating material such as a glass cloth base epoxy resin or a paper base phenol resin,
A material in which a resistive layer (resist) 26 and a conductor pattern 28 such as a copper foil are formed on a base material 24 made of a flexible organic insulating material such as polyester or polyimide by a method such as photoetching is preferably used. . Then, on the surface of the flexible printed circuit board 20 through the resistance layer 26, LE
The D element 18 is fixed, and the power supply bonding wires 30 are formed. Note that, instead of the bonding wires 30 and 30, a cathode electrode and an anode electrode formed on the flexible printed circuit board 20 can be used. Thereafter, a transparent resin layer 22 in a molten state is applied to the surface of the obtained flexible printed circuit board 20 with an appropriate thickness (for example, several mm) by coating or the like. In addition, as the transparent resin layer 22, for example, in addition to a phenol resin and a melamine resin, acrylonitrile-styrene (A
S), polyethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and the like can be adopted, and a thermopolymerized curable resin, a photopolymerizable curable resin, and an electron beam curable resin are also suitably used.

The flexible printed circuit board 20 on which the transparent resin layer 22 is adhered is curved and held in a desired shape, and the transparent resin layer 22 is heated or irradiated with ultraviolet light as necessary. The LED display surface 3 having a predetermined curved shape is formed by performing an appropriate curing process such as irradiation and curing.
2 can be obtained. In addition,
The transparent resin layer 22 exhibits such a rigidity that the flexible printed circuit board 20 can be prevented from being deformed with an unnecessarily large curvature, and is flexible with respect to the target display surface shape of the LED display surface 32. It is preferable that the elastic member be formed with a predetermined rigidity or elasticity so that the elasticity can be exerted to the extent that it can correspond to the following. When bending the flexible printed circuit board 20, the bonding wires 3
In order to reduce or avoid the tensile force exerted on the flexible printed circuit board 20, the bonding wire 3 extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the flexible printed circuit board 20 is curved.
It is desirable to arrange 0,30. Further, a lead portion (not shown) formed by a flexible printed wiring board or a plurality of parallel lead wires is mounted on the LED board 14. Incidentally, as the flexible printed wiring board, for example, a laminate in which an electrolytic copper foil or a rolled copper foil is laminated on a polyester film (PET) or a polyimide film (PIA) by adhesion or non-adhesion can be suitably used. Furthermore, on the outer peripheral edge of the LED board 14,
A plurality (four in this embodiment) of bolt insertion holes 3
4 are penetrated.

On the back side of the LED board 14 obtained as described above, in other words, on the back side of the flexible printed circuit board 20 of the LED board 14, a supporting rubber elastic body 36 as a support member is provided. It is arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, the support rubber elastic body 36 has a thick rectangular flat plate shape, and is made of an elastic material such as acrylic rubber. Further, in the present embodiment, in particular, the outer dimensions of the support rubber elastic body 36 are set slightly smaller than the LED board 14.

Further, a plurality of (in this embodiment, four in total) bolt insertion holes 38 are formed through the outer peripheral edge of the support rubber elastic body 36, and a recess is formed in the center thereof. Is formed to penetrate in the plate thickness direction. The specific shape, size, and the like of the fitting hole 40 are not particularly limited. However, in the present embodiment, the fitting hole 40 has a rectangular shape, and has substantially the same size as the LED display surface 32 of the LED board 14. Have been. Each of the fitting holes 40 has a support projection 4 having a substantially rectangular cross section which projects inward from the pair of outer peripheral side walls facing each other in the direction perpendicular to the axis.
2 are provided so as to extend in the axial direction (the thickness direction). Here, the support protrusions 42 are formed integrally with the support rubber elastic body 36, are formed in a pair on each outer peripheral side wall surface, and are spaced apart from each other. , The height dimension is smaller than the fitting hole 40. As a result, gaps 44 having a predetermined length are formed between the opposing surfaces of the support projections 42 in the direction perpendicular to the axis. In the present embodiment, the drive board 16 is connected to these gaps 44,
44, respectively, in the direction perpendicular to the axis (FIG. 4).
A pair of support projections 4 facing each other in the middle and vertical directions
2, 42 elastically sandwiched.

Although not specifically shown in the drawings, the drive board 16 is formed of a rigid printed board, has a flat plate shape, has a predetermined copper foil pattern, and has an IC Are mounted. The thickness of the drive board 16 is
The thickness is set slightly smaller than the thickness of the supporting rubber elastic body 36. Further, a connector is fixedly mounted on the drive board 16, and each terminal of the connector is
A copper wire pattern for controlling power supply to the D element 18 is connected. The lead provided on the LED board 14 is connected to the connector provided on the drive board 16, and the control voltage by the drive board 16 is
Power is supplied to each LED element through a lead portion of the substrate 14. Thereby, the drive board 16
LE of drive voltage supplied from power supply unit not shown
By controlling the supply to the D substrate 14,
Is turned on, the display surface 32 of the LED substrate 14 is turned on.
Is displayed in a predetermined pattern. As the drive board 16, a conventionally known rigid printed wiring board can be adopted. For example, a predetermined base material using a paper base phenol resin or a glass cloth base epoxy resin may be used. A copper wire pattern is preferably used.

Here, the drive board 16 is accommodated and arranged in the fitting hole 40 of the support rubber elastic body 36 and fitted into the gaps 44, 44 between each pair of the support projections 42, 42. Are elastically deformed in proportion to the rigidity of the drive board 16, and the support projections 42, 4 are elastically restored by the elastic restoring force of the support projection 42 returning to the original shape.
2, the drive board 16 is held in a flexible state with respect to the support rubber elastic body 36.

In the thickness direction of the supporting rubber elastic body 36,
On the side opposite to the side on which the LED board 14 is mounted, a support plate fitting 46 as a strength member is provided. The support plate 46 has a thin plate shape curved with substantially the same curvature as the LED board 14 and is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel. In addition, the support plate fitting 46
(In this embodiment, a total of four)
Bolt insertion hole 48 is provided.

In short, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the supporting rubber elastic body 36 and the supporting plate fitting 46 are connected to the supporting rubber elastic body 36 and the supporting plate in the thickness direction of the LED substrate 14. Fixing bolts 50 (see FIG. 1) are arranged in a state of being superimposed on the board 14 in the order of the metal fittings 46 and inserted into the bolt communication holes 34 of the LED board 14.
Are inserted into the bolt communication holes 38 and 48 of the support rubber elastic body 36 and the support plate fitting 46, and the fixing nut 52 (FIG.
), The LED substrates 1
4. The support rubber elastic body 36 and the support plate metal fitting 46 are fixedly assembled to each other, and thus the LED display device 10 is configured. Further, in the present embodiment, in particular, the support rubber elastic body 36 is made to LE by the pressing action of the LED board 14 and the support plate fitting 46 based on the fastening force of the bolt and nut.
It is curved and deformed at substantially the same curvature as the D substrate 14 (support plate metal member 46), and the front (front surface) and back surface (back surface) of the support rubber elastic body 36 are the rear surface of the LED substrate 14 and the front surface of the support plate metal member 46. The contact holes 4 of the supporting rubber elastic body 36
The openings on both sides of the cover are fluid-tightly covered with the LED substrate 14 and the support plate 46. As is clear from the above description, in the present embodiment, the support rubber elastic body 36
A cover member that covers the opening on both sides of the fitting hole 40 is constituted by the LED substrate 14 and the support plate bracket 46.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality (three in the present embodiment) of the LED display device 10 obtained in this manner is used and the both ends in the circumferential direction are used. The display device 12 is formed by abutting each other at the portions and bonding them together in an intimate state, thereby forming a curved display surface 54 that extends greatly in the circumferential direction in cooperation. .

The display device 12 is provided with a protection plate 56 as a cover member. The protection plate 56 has a thin flat plate shape curved at substantially the same curvature as the display surface 50 of the display device 12, and is made of a hard material such as an acrylic resin that develops a smoke-based color such as beige or gray. Is formed. The protective plate 56 has an outer dimension set to be larger than the display surface 54 of the display device 12 and a direction perpendicular to the display surface 54 and a bending direction (a thickness direction of the display device 12).
The display device 12 is fixed to a display window 60 of a rigid housing 58 constituting an outer portion of the display device 12. Thereby, in the display device 12, the pattern display by the lighting of the LED element 18 emitted from the display surface 54 is visually recognized through the display window 60 on which the protection plate 56 is mounted.

The LE of the present embodiment having the above-described structure is used.
In the D display device 10, since the supporting rubber elastic body 36 is elastically deformable, the supporting rubber elastic body 36 is deformed and arranged in a shape appropriately corresponding to the shape of the LED board 14, so that the drive board 16 It can be held in a flexible state without completely fixing the position. Therefore, the drive board 16 is supported by the rubber elastic body 36 while advantageously ensuring various degrees of freedom in the curved design of the LED board 14.
Can be stably held.

In addition, in the present embodiment, since the supporting rubber elastic body 36 is disposed appropriately corresponding to the shape of the LED substrate 14, the drive substrate 16 corresponding to various shapes of the LED substrate 14 is prepared. It is not necessary to perform the above operation, whereby the handleability and cost of the drive board 16 can be advantageously improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the drive board 16 is accommodated in the fitting hole 40 of the support rubber elastic body 36, so that the thickness of the support rubber elastic body 36 can be skillfully utilized and the drive board 16 can be used. A large accommodation space for the LED display device 10 and a compact overall LED display device 10 can be achieved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the support plate 46
The support rubber elastic body 36 and the LED substrate 14 are supported by using, so that the shape of the LED display device 10 can be stably held, thereby improving durability and quality stability.

Further, in the present embodiment, the opening on both sides of the fitting hole 40 of the supporting rubber elastic body 36 is covered with the LED board 14 and the supporting plate fitting 46, so that the drive board 16 from the fitting hole 40 is Can be prevented from falling off.

The display device 1 having the above-described structure is used.
2, the support rubber elastic body 36 has an outer dimension of LED
By employing the LED display device 10 which is set smaller than the outer dimensions of the substrate 14, when a plurality of such LED display devices 10 are used, they are brought into close contact with each other at their circumferential end edges and connected in close contact. In addition, the support rubber elastic body 36 is prevented from protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the LED substrate 14, so that interference with the adjacently disposed LED substrate 14 is avoided. And can be advantageously formed.

Further, in the display device 12 of the present embodiment, since the protection plate 56 is provided in front of the display surface 54, the visibility of the non-light emitting LED element 18 from the outside is reduced, and the light emitting device 18 emits light. Since the visibility of the LED element 18 is relatively improved, excellent visibility and design can be advantageously achieved.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples.
It should not be construed as being limited by the specific description in such an embodiment.

For example, the size and shape of the display surface formed by one or a plurality of LED substrates are not limited at all, and the size of the display device on which such a display surface is formed is not limited. The sheath structure and the like are not limited. Further, the scope of the display device to which the present invention is applied is not limited, and all conceivable examples of application to devices and fields are included in the scope of the present invention.

Further, the transparent resin layer of the LED substrate can also serve as a protection plate for the display surface of the display device.

Further, in the above embodiment, the thickness of the support rubber elastic body is set to be larger than that of the drive board. However, the support rubber elastic body may be set to be substantially the same as or smaller than the drive board. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the display surface of the display device is formed by connecting a plurality of LED display devices. However, the display surface is formed by using one LED display device. Of course, it is also possible.

In addition, although not enumerated one by one, the present invention
Based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, various changes, modifications, improvements, and the like can be made, and unless such embodiments depart from the spirit of the present invention.
Both are included in the scope of the present invention,
Needless to say.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, in the LED display device having the structure according to the present invention, since the support member is elastically deformable, the shape appropriately corresponds to the shape of the LED substrate. Therefore, the drive board can be held in a flexible state without completely fixing the position of the drive board. Therefore, the drive board can be stably held by the support member, while various degrees of freedom of the curved design of the LED board are advantageously secured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view showing a display device including an LED display device as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an LE constituting the LED display device shown in FIG. 1;
It is a top view showing D board.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a III-III section in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the LED display device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 LED display device 14 LED board 16 Drive board 18 LED element 20 Flexible printed board 22 Transparent resin layer 36 Support rubber elastic body

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masumi Ishida 2-6-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsui Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshitaro Takeichi 2-6-, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo No.2 Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C094 AA15 BA25 DA05 DA06

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method for mounting a plurality of LED elements on a flexible printed circuit board, applying a hard transparent resin layer on a surface of the flexible printed circuit board, and attaching the flexible printed circuit board to the transparent resin. In an LED display device including an LED substrate held in a curved shape by a layer, a drive substrate for controlling power supply to the LED element is provided independently of the LED substrate,
An LED display device, wherein a support member that can be elastically deformed is disposed on the back surface side of the D substrate, and the drive substrate is held by the support member. 2. The LED display device according to claim 1, wherein a recess is provided in the support member, and the drive board is inserted into and held in the recess. 3. A lid for penetrating the support member in the thickness direction to form the recess, accommodating the drive board in the recess, and covering both side openings of the recess of the support member. The LED display device according to claim 2, wherein a member is provided to prevent the drive board from dropping out of the recess. 4. The LE in a thickness direction of the support member.
4. The LED display device according to claim 1, wherein a hard strength member is disposed on a side opposite to the D substrate, and the support member and the LED substrate are supported by the strength member. 5. The support member according to claim 1, wherein said support member has an outer dimension.
The LED display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the LED display device is smaller than an outer dimension of the ED substrate. 6. With respect to the surface of the LED substrate,
The LED display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a translucent cover member having a higher strength than the hard transparent resin layer adhered to the LED substrate is disposed on the LED substrate.