JP2003295185A - Electronic equipment and liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To freely represent a favorite color with an inexpensive configuration without increasing the number of LEDs. <P>SOLUTION: An insertion slot 4 for inserting a reflection sheet 3 is provided on the side face of a housing 1, and a colored reflection sheet 3 is inserted from the insertion slot 4 so that the sheet 3 is arranged at the rear face of a light transmission plate 14. In the case of displaying a different color, the arranged reflection sheet 3 is pulled out, and a reflection sheet 3 with a different color is inserted from the insertion slot 4. Thus, it is possible to change colors at a low cost without increasing the number of LEDs only by exchanging reflection sheets 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device and a liquid crystal display device which can freely express a desired color with an inexpensive structure without increasing the number of light sources.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, STN (Super Twisted Nemati)
c) In an electronic device that uses a liquid crystal display device such as a liquid crystal panel as a display unit, a backlight (or a front light) is used so that the visibility can be secured even in a dark place. Usually, the backlight of a liquid crystal display device is
It is composed of an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) that is a light source and a plate-shaped transparent light guide plate that guides light. In the case of a black-and-white liquid crystal display device, the base color of the liquid crystal display device is determined by the color of the backlight, and when designing electronic equipment, the backlight, particularly the LED emission color, that is preferred in the market is selected.

[0003] In addition, electronic devices which are capable of changing the color of a backlight marketed as products in recent years generally have a structure in which LEDs of different emission colors are incorporated. In such an electronic device, the user arbitrarily changes the color of the backlight, or in the case of a telephone, the color is automatically changed by the other party.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic equipment, when a user can arbitrarily select a backlight of a plurality of different colors, a plurality of LEDs must be used, which is expensive. There is a point. Further, since there are colors that cannot be expressed by the LEDs, color variations are limited.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic apparatus and a liquid crystal display device which can freely express a desired color with an inexpensive structure without increasing the number of LEDs. To do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention is a coloring material which transmits or reflects light of a light source to an optical path after a light source of an electro-optical device having an illuminating device. Is disposed, and the housing has an insertion / removal opening through which the coloring material is inserted / removed.

By disposing the coloring material after the light source, the light from the light source is colored by the coloring material. By thus changing the color of the electro-optical device with the coloring material, it is not necessary to provide a large number of light sources, and thus the cost of the electronic device can be reduced. In addition, since the housing has an outlet for the coloring material, the user can selectively use any coloring material. As a result, the color can be changed with a simple configuration. In the case of a liquid crystal display device, for example, the optical path includes immediately before the light source, the front and back surfaces of the light guide plate, and the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate.

As the electro-optical device, an organic electroluminescence device, an inorganic electroluminescence device, an electrophoretic display device, a plasma display device, a field emission display device (field emission display device), an LED display device (light emitting diode). It is also applicable to display devices) (the same applies hereinafter).

In the electronic apparatus according to the next invention, the back surface of the housing for accommodating the electro-optical device has an opening / closing structure, and the optical path of the illuminating device of the electro-optical device is exposed with the back surface opened, and the optical path is It is characterized by having an arrangement portion in which a coloring material that transmits or reflects the light of the light source is arranged.

By arranging the coloring material in the exposed optical path,
The light from the light source is colored. Since the coloring material may be arranged with the back surface of the housing opened, the color can be changed by a simple operation. Further, since it is not necessary to increase the number of light sources, the electronic device can be manufactured at low cost. In the case of a liquid crystal display device, for example, the optical path includes immediately before the light source, the front and back surfaces of the light guide plate, and the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate.

An electronic device according to the next invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned structure, characters and patterns are drawn on the coloring material.

By drawing a character or a pattern on the coloring material, the character or the like can be displayed on the electro-optical device. The coloring material for drawing characters and the like is preferably flat, but may be stick.

In a liquid crystal display device according to the next invention, a light guide plate having a light source is arranged on the back surface of a liquid crystal panel housed in a housing, and is provided on a side surface of the housing and arranged on one surface of the light guide plate. It is characterized in that it is provided with an extraction port for inserting or extracting a colored reflection sheet.

In the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, since the reflection sheet is inserted through the insertion / removal port and the reflection sheet is positioned on one surface of the light guide plate, the emission color of the light source becomes the color of the reflection sheet and is reflected. Thereby, the illumination color of the liquid crystal display device can be easily changed. Moreover, since the number of light sources does not increase, the liquid crystal display device can be manufactured at low cost.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the next invention, the back surface of the housing accommodating the liquid crystal panel has an opening / closing structure, the light guide plate of the liquid crystal panel is exposed with the lid opened, and the colored reflection is reflected on the light guide plate. It is characterized by having a fixing means for closely fixing the sheet.

Even with such a structure, it is possible to easily change the color with an inexpensive structure. The fixing means may be, for example, a structure in which a projection or a claw for locking is provided on the light guide plate itself or a frame body provided around the light guide plate.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Further, the constituent elements of this embodiment can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art,
Alternatively, those substantially the same are included.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Is a front view and (b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mobile phone shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the mobile phone shown in FIG. This mobile phone 100 has a liquid crystal panel 2 built in a housing 1,
An insertion port 4 into which the reflection sheet 3 is inserted is provided on the side surface. The liquid crystal panel 2 is a simple matrix type STN liquid crystal panel, and transparent electrodes made of ITO are formed in stripes on the surfaces of the glass substrates 5 and 6. The two glass substrates 5 and 6 are laminated such that the transparent electrodes on the opposite surfaces intersect each other, and a liquid crystal is sealed between them.

An upper polarizing plate 7 and a lower polarizing plate 8 are spread on both sides of the laminated glass substrates 5 and 6. In the non-laminated region 5a of one glass substrate 5 having a large area,
The driver IC 9 is COG mounted. The wiring pattern formed in the non-laminated region 5 a of the liquid crystal panel 2 is connected to the circuit board 11 via the rubber connector 10. The upper polarizing plate 7 is bonded to the metal frame 13 via the gasket 12, and the lower polarizing plate 8 is bonded to the light guide plate 14. The light guide plate 14 is a transparent plate-shaped body formed of polycarbonate. An LED (not shown) is provided at an end of the light guide plate 14, and the LED and the light guide plate 14 constitute an illumination device.

Next, on the surface opposite to the display surface of the light guide plate 14,
The reflection sheet 3 having a specific color is arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, the reflection sheet 3 has a predetermined color 50.
composed of a PET sheet 3a having a thickness of μm to 125 μm,
In order to have a predetermined rigidity, the PTE sheet 3a is attached to a transparent plate 3b made of the same material as the light guide plate (for example, polycarbonate). The thickness of the transparent plate 3b is
It is about 1 mm to 1.5 mm.

The insertion port 4 provided on the side surface of the casing 1 of the mobile phone 100 is formed at the same position as the insertion space S formed between the light guide plate 14 and the circuit board 11. Reflective sheet 3
Is preferably larger than the glass substrates 5 and 6, and at least larger than the active area of the liquid crystal panel 2. The size of the insertion space S of the reflection sheet 3 is adjusted and fixed in relation to the reflection sheet 3. That is, when the reflection sheet 3 is inserted into the insertion space S, the dimensional difference between the reflection sheet 3 and the insertion space S is driven to the extent that the friction sheet can hold the reflection sheet 3 inside. The method of fixing the reflection sheet 3 is not limited to this method, but a recess may be provided on the side surface of the reflection sheet, and a projection at the tip of the lever body provided inside the insertion port may be fitted into the recess (not shown). .

In addition, a pin hole 15 for rejection is provided near the insertion port 4 of the housing 1. This pin hole 1
A rod 17 urged toward the hole side by a coil spring 16 is movably arranged in the axial direction in the shaft 5, and an L-shaped member 18 for rejection is provided at the rod end 17a. The L-shaped member 18 is rotatable around the central portion, one end 18a of which is in contact with the rod end 17a, and the other end 18b of which is in contact with the end of the reflection sheet 3.

When the rejecting pin 19 is inserted into the pin hole 15, the pin 17 pushes the rod 17 inward, and the rod end 17a pushes the one end 18a of the L-shaped member 18. As a result, the L-shaped member 18 rotates, and the other end 18b pushes out the reflection sheet 3, so that the user reflects the reflection sheet 3.
Can be pulled out from the insertion port 4. The reject mechanism of the reflection sheet 3 is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and a known mechanism used for a card slot of a notebook computer can be used.

In this way, the user can easily change the color of the backlight by inserting the reflection sheet 3 according to his / her preference into the insertion port 4. Since the reflection sheet 3 is manufactured by PET, various colors such as orange and clean can be expressed. Therefore, even a color that cannot be displayed by the LED can be easily realized. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a plurality of types of LEDs for each color, the mobile phone 100 becomes inexpensive. Since the configuration is simpler, even a user such as an elementary school student can easily change the color of the backlight.

The reflective sheet 3 is easily provided with a plurality of types of colors and is provided to the user. Further, as the reflection sheet 3, a sheet on which characters and patterns are drawn can be used. As a result, the design can be displayed as a back design on the liquid crystal display device. Further, on the surface of the reflection sheet 3, a material having low water repellency such as paper may be used instead of PET so that the user can freely draw characters and patterns. Also,
The reflection sheet 3 may have not only a single color but also a plurality of colors such as gradations. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the reflection sheet 3 has a structure in which the PET sheet 3a is spread on the transparent plate 3b serving as a base.
Peel off this PET sheet 3a to get a new PET sheet 3
A may be attached (not shown).

Further, a pin hole for rejection is provided on the opposite side of the insertion port 4 of the housing 1, a relatively long pin is inserted from this pin hole, and a reflection sheet is inserted from the insertion port at the tip of the pin. It may be pushed out (not shown). In this way, a complicated reject mechanism is unnecessary and the structure is further simplified.

In the first embodiment, the reflection sheet 3 is arranged on the back side of the light guide plate 14, but a colored transparent sheet may be arranged on the front side of the light guide plate 14 (not shown). . In that case, it is preferable to use a transparent material such as colored polycarbonate for the transparent sheet. That is, in the present invention, the color of the liquid crystal panel 2 can be changed by disposing the coloring material in the optical path from the LED as the light source to the final display.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a portable telephone according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This mobile phone 200 has a structure in which the back side of the portion of the housing 201 in which the liquid crystal panel 2 is built is open. Cover plate 202
Is attached to the housing 201 with a hinge 203 at one end thereof, and has a claw 20 for fixing to the housing 201 at the other end.
4 are formed. With the cover plate 202 opened, the light guide plate 14 of the liquid crystal panel 2 is exposed to the outside. The configurations of the liquid crystal panel 2 and the reflection sheet 3 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

A fixed frame 20 is provided around the light guide plate 14.
5 are provided. A protrusion 206 for locking the reflection sheet 3 is provided on the lower portion of the fixed frame 205, and a claw 207 is provided on the upper portion. The user locks the lower end 3c of the reflection sheet 3 to the protrusion 206, pushes in the upper end 3d of the reflection sheet 3 to elastically deform the claw 207, and then pushes it in as it is to completely fix the reflection sheet 3. After fixing the reflection sheet 3, the cover plate 202 is closed.

When removing the reflection sheet 3, the lid plate 20 is used.
2 is opened, and then the claw 207 is pushed outward to elastically deform, whereby the reflection sheet 3 is released from the locked state, and the reflection sheet 3 is taken out in this state. Then, the user attaches the reflection sheet 3 of another color. According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a complicated reject mechanism. The fixed frame 205 may be formed integrally with the light guide plate 14. Further, the cover plate 202 may have a structure in which the opening can be slid and fixed, instead of the opening / closing structure by the hinge 203.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a portable telephone according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7
8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mobile phone shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 7. This mobile phone 300
In the case 301, a liquid crystal panel 2 similar to that of the first embodiment is built in, and in the liquid crystal panel 2, a light guide plate 3 having a white reflection sheet 302 spread on the surface opposite to the display surface.
03 is attached. Further, the light guide plate 303 is arranged to face the circuit board 11 or is bonded to the circuit board 11.

Color sticks 3 are provided on both sides of the housing 301.
An insertion port 305 for inserting 04 and an extraction port 306 are provided. Color stick 304 is a colored transparent material,
For example, it is made of polycarbonate. In the housing 301, the color stick 304 includes the circuit board 11 and the holding frame 307.
It is held with frictional force in the insertion space with. The insertion port 305 and the ejection port 306 are provided at the same position as the insertion space. The color stick 304 is arranged between the end surface of the light guide plate 303 and the LED 308. In addition, the color stick 304 has a square or rectangular cross section, and
It is extremely close to or in contact with 308 and the end surface 303 of the light guide plate (close to the optical path of the LED 308). Thereby, the light of the LED 308 can be guided to the light guide plate 303 without leakage.

Next, in order to insert the color stick 304, the color stick 30 is inserted from the insertion port 305 of the housing 301.
Insert 4 and push it inside. This allows the LED
Color stick 3 is placed on the optical path between 308 and light guide plate 303.
The backlight can be the color of the color stick 304 with the help of 04. Next, when replacing the color stick 304, another color stick 304 is inserted from the insertion port 305, the currently inserted color stick 304 is pulled out from the ejection port 306 on the opposite side, and the color stick 304 is pushed in as it is. It is located between the LED 308 and the light guide plate 303. The extracted color stick 304 is held by the user.

As described above, if the color of the backlight is changed by the color stick 304, the reflection sheet 3
You can change the color with parts smaller than 02. Further, since the space for changing the color is small, the mobile phone 300 can be made compact. Since the color stick 304 itself has a small volume, a housing space for housing several color sticks 304 may be provided in the housing 301 of the mobile phone 300. Further, the color stick 304 may have a plurality of colors in the longitudinal direction as well as a single color.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a telephone according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10
It is a schematic block diagram of the telephone shown in FIG. This phone 4
00 has a large-sized liquid crystal display unit 401 that is particularly often used in a telephone with a FAX function. The liquid crystal display unit 401 has a colored reflection sheet 40 similar to the above.
It is designed so that 2 can be inserted. Liquid crystal panel 40
The reflection sheet of the light guide plate 404 arranged on the back side of the reference numeral 3 is inserted from the insertion port 406 provided on the top of the housing 405 of the pop-up type liquid crystal display unit 401. Reference numeral 406 is an LED
Is.

A tab 402a is provided on the upper end of the reflection sheet 402.
Is provided, and as shown in FIG. 11, the reflection sheet 4
With the 02 plugged in, the tab 40
2a projects. On the other hand, the reflection sheet 402 is attached to the housing 405.
When pulling out from the tab, the tab 402a is pulled out. The reflective sheet 402 is prepared in a plurality of colors. As a result, the color of the liquid crystal display unit 401 of the telephone 400 can be freely set to the user's preference without increasing the number of LEDs and with an inexpensive configuration.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the mobile phone described in the first to third embodiments and the stationary telephone described in the fourth embodiment as long as it is an electronic device having a liquid crystal display device. , A refrigerator having a liquid crystal display, an electronic rice cooker,
It can also be applied to air conditioners, air purifiers, audio equipment, electronic dictionaries, etc.

[0038]

As described above, the electronic apparatus of the present invention has an arrangement portion for arranging the coloring material that transmits or reflects the light of the light source in the optical path after the light source of the electro-optical device having the illuminating device. Since the housing has an insertion / removal opening for inserting / removing the coloring material, it is possible to freely express a desired color with an inexpensive configuration without increasing the number of light sources.

Further, in the electronic apparatus of the present invention, the rear surface of the housing for accommodating the electro-optical device has an opening / closing structure, and the optical path of the illuminating device of the electro-optical device is exposed with the rear surface opened, and the optical path is Since it has an arrangement portion for arranging a coloring material that transmits or reflects the light of the light source, a desired color can be expressed by a simple operation. Also, it can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, in the electronic device of the present invention, since characters and patterns are drawn on the coloring material, characters and the like can be displayed on the electro-optical device.

Further, in the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, the light guide plate having the light source is arranged on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel housed in the housing, and the light guide plate is provided on the side surface of the housing and arranged on one surface of the light guide plate. The liquid crystal display device can be manufactured at a low cost and the color can be easily changed because the liquid crystal display device is provided with the insertion / extraction opening for inserting or extracting the colored reflection sheet.

Further, in the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, the back surface of the housing accommodating the liquid crystal panel has an opening / closing structure, the light guide plate of the liquid crystal panel is exposed with the lid opened, and the light guide plate is colored. Since the reflection sheet is provided with a fixing means for closely fixing, the color can be easily changed with an inexpensive structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of a reflection sheet.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a telephone according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

10 is a schematic configuration diagram of the telephone shown in FIG.

11 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a reflection sheet of the telephone shown in FIG. 9 is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 mobile phones 1 case 2 LCD panel 3 reflective sheet 4 outlets 5,6 glass substrate 7 Upper polarizing plate 8 Lower polarizing plate 10 Rubber connector 11 circuit board 12 gasket 13 gold frame 14 Light guide plate 15 pin hole

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04M 1/02 H04M 1/02 C H04B 7/26 K H04Q 7/32 V F term (reference) 2H091 FA02Z FA14Z FA23Z FA45Z FD06 FD23 FD24 HA10 LA03 LA11 LA12 LA13 LA15 5K023 AA07 HH05 HH07 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB21 EE02 FF23 KK17

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electro-optical device having an illuminating device, which has an arrangement portion for arranging a coloring material that transmits or reflects light of the light source in an optical path after the light source, and has a housing for an insertion / removal opening for inserting and removing the coloring material. An electronic device characterized by having. 2. The housing for housing the electro-optical device has an opening / closing structure, and the light path of the illumination device of the electro-optical device is exposed with the back surface opened, and the light from the light source is transmitted to the light path. An electronic device having an arrangement portion for arranging a reflecting or coloring material. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein characters and patterns are drawn on the coloring material. 4. A light guide plate having a light source is arranged on the back surface of a liquid crystal panel housed in a housing, and a colored reflection sheet provided on a side surface of the housing and arranged on one surface of the light guide plate is inserted or A liquid crystal display device characterized by being provided with an extraction / removal opening. 5. A fixing means for opening and closing a back surface of a housing accommodating a liquid crystal panel, exposing a light guide plate of the liquid crystal panel in a state where a lid is opened, and fixing a colored reflection sheet to the light guide plate in close contact with the light guide plate. A liquid crystal display device comprising: