JP2007065532A - Frame of flat panel display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a frame having a less number of fixing parts to be provided to fix a flat panel display, in particular, a backlight unit of a liquid crystal display apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: An upper section and a lower section of the frame 14 are connected in foldable flexures 145a, 145b; a side face of the upper section in a longer side of a display screen, opposite to the side face including the side connected to the flexures 145a, 145b, is provided with two hooks 141a, 141b; and a side face of the lower section of the frame 14, opposite to the side face including the above described side, is provided two pawl-like projections 142a, 142b. The upper section and the lower section of the frame 14 are fixed to sandwich a backlight unit 12 by firmly locking the hooks with the projections. Since no hook or projection as a fixing unit is required on the side face near the flexures 145a, 145b, the number of fixing units can be decreased. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a frame of a flat panel type display device, and more particularly to a frame for supporting a backlight unit or the like of a liquid crystal display device.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a liquid crystal display (LCD) is widely used as a display device for televisions, personal computers, mobile phones, and the like, instead of a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) type display device. The structure of the liquid crystal display device will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional liquid crystal display device. This liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel 911 including a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate and a CF (Color Filter) substrate, a backlight unit 912 including various optical members including a light source 922, and a backlight unit 912 from both sides. An upper frame 913 and a lower frame 914 are provided so as to be sandwiched.

  The liquid crystal panel 911 performs various displays by controlling the amount of light transmitted from the light source 922 included in the backlight unit 912 for each pixel. A signal for this display is given from an external control unit via an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) board 910 attached to the right side of the liquid crystal panel 911 in the drawing. In addition, polarizing plates are attached to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 911.

  The backlight unit 912 includes a light guide plate that emits light in a planar shape from the illumination surface, lens sheets including a lens sheet, a light diffusion sheet, and the like disposed on the front surface side (illumination surface side) of the light guide plate, and the light guide. And a reflection sheet attached to the back side of the light plate (opposite side of the display surface). A light source 922 made of a cold cathode fluorescent tube (CCFT) is provided at the end of the light guide plate. The light source 922 may be a white light emitting diode (LED). The light from the light source 922 is incident from a predetermined light incident surface of the light guide plate, and then diffused throughout the light guide plate to be emitted in a planar shape from the predetermined surface (illumination surface). By appropriately adjusting the amount of light from the backlight unit 912 for each pixel displayed on the liquid crystal panel 911, various displays are performed on the display surface of the liquid crystal display device.

  The upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 are made of a plate-like metal or resin, support the liquid crystal panel 911 and the backlight unit 912 at predetermined positions, and protect them from external impacts.

  That is, the liquid crystal panel 911 is fitted into the upper frame 913 from the upper side of the drawing and is fixed by a light-shielding double-sided tape attached on the contact surface of the upper frame 913. The backlight unit 912 is fixed by being sandwiched between the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914. The upper frame 913 is provided with one hook portion (for example, hook portion 931c in the figure) on the side surface including the short side of the display surface, and two hook portions (for example, on the side surface corresponding to the long side) The hook portions 931a and 931b) in the figure are provided respectively. Further, the lower frame 914 is provided with six protrusions including claw-shaped protrusions 932a to 932c that can be fitted into holes opened in these hook portions. The upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 are fixed with the backlight portion 912 firmly sandwiched by the hook portions being firmly hooked to the protrusions. As described above, the configuration in which the hook portion is fixed by being hooked on the protrusion portion is that the backlight portion 912 is firmly fixed, and the backlight portion 912 needs to be repaired or replaced later. This is because sometimes the hooked portion having elasticity can be easily released by separating it from the projection.

  The liquid crystal panel 911 and the backlight unit 912 are fitted in the upper frame 913 and fixed by a light-shielding double-sided tape attached on the contact surface of the upper frame 913. Note that a not-shown bezel that constitutes an outer frame of the apparatus is provided on the peripheral portion of the upper frame 913 on the display surface side.

  Generally, when the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 are made of resin, first, a male mold (also referred to as a “core”) having a shape corresponding to the shape of the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 is used. And a female mold (also referred to as a “cavity”) are manufactured by injection molding or compression molding a resin as a heated material by a molding machine to which these molds are attached. In the case of a plate-like metal, the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 are metal plates for punching (shearing) the opening corresponding to the display surface of the liquid crystal panel 911 and bending it into a predetermined shape. It is manufactured by processing a sheet metal as a material by a press machine and a stage to which a metal mold is attached. The lower frame 914 is usually provided with an opening corresponding to the opening, but may be omitted.

Conventionally, there is a liquid crystal display panel fixing frame suitable for a parting plate for incident / exit light in a liquid crystal panel (see Patent Document 2). This conventional fixing frame includes a frame main body and a cover pivotally supported by the frame main body. When the liquid crystal panel is sandwiched between the frame main body and the cover, the cover is fixed at a position that functions as a parting plate for incident / exit light. Thereby, the process of attaching the parting plate to the liquid crystal panel can be simplified.
JP 2004-179207 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-218744

  However, the conventional liquid crystal display panel fixing frame described in Patent Document 2 is not a box-like shape (unlike the conventional upper frame 913 and lower frame 914 shown in FIG. 2). Can not be stored and fixed, and there is no configuration for facilitating removal after fixing by sandwiching the liquid crystal panel.

  In this regard, the conventional upper frame 913 and lower frame 914 shown in FIG. 2 have a box-like shape that can accommodate the backlight portion 912 therein, and hooks and protrusions provided on the side surfaces thereof are strongly latched. By doing so, the backlight unit 912 housed inside can be fixed. Further, since the hook portion provided on the upper frame 913 is lifted so as to be pulled away from the side surface of the lower frame 914, the hooked state between the hook portion and the protruding portion can be easily released. In addition, the backlight unit 912 can be easily taken out by separating the lower frame 914.

  However, the hook portion and the projection portion must be strongly latched so that the hooked portion and the projection portion are not easily released due to an impact from the outside of the apparatus. For this reason, the hook portion is generally configured so as not to be elastically deformed enough to release the hooked state unless a strong force is applied. Therefore, when the backlight portion 912 is taken out, a strong force must be applied to the hook portion. Therefore, an operator may accidentally apply a force exceeding the elastic limit point to the hook portion or apply a strong force in the wrong direction. In that case, the hook part may lose its function or be destroyed. This does not occur only in the structure in which the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 are fixed by the hook part and the protrusion part, but even if the structure is fixed by other structures such as caulking, it may be caused by fatigue failure or deformation that cannot be repaired. Functions may be lost. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the function is lost when the number of structures such as hooks and protrusions for fixing the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 (hereinafter referred to as “fixing part”) is as small as possible, And it is preferable at the point which can make the operation | work at the time of accommodating or taking out the backlight part 912 easy.

  However, in the conventional upper frame 913 and lower frame 914 shown in FIG. 2, the four sides of the rectangular shape sandwich the backlight portion 912 with almost equal force and are firmly fixed so that they do not deviate from each other. One or more (here, a total of six) hooks and protrusions are provided on the corresponding side surfaces. Therefore, since all of these hook parts and protrusions must be released, the work for taking out the backlight part 912 becomes complicated, and the functions of the fixing parts such as the hook parts and the protrusion parts are lost by this work. The possibility increases.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a flat panel display device, particularly a frame of a flat panel display device in which the number of fixing parts to be provided for fixing a backlight unit of a liquid crystal display device is reduced, particularly a backlight of a liquid crystal display device. An object is to provide a frame for supporting a portion.

1st invention is the flame | frame provided in the outer periphery vicinity of the said display part in the flat panel type display apparatus which has a rectangular-shaped display part which displays an image,
An upper portion having side surfaces including sides along each side of the display unit;
A lower portion having a side surface that can be arranged in substantially the same plane as the side surface included in the upper portion;
A bendable bend that connects the vicinity of one side of the side surface in the upper portion and the vicinity of a certain side of the side surface in the lower portion;
The upper portion includes first fixing means on one or more side surfaces excluding the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion,
The lower portion includes second fixing means on one or more side surfaces excluding the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion,
The first and second fixing means are releasably fixed to each other when the side surface included in the upper portion and the side surface included in the lower portion are arranged on substantially the same plane. To do.

According to a second invention, in the first invention,
The first and second fixing means may be included only in a side surface parallel to the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion.

According to a third invention, in the first or second invention,
One of the first and second fixing means is a protrusion,
The other of the first and second fixing means is a hook portion that can be hooked on the protrusion.

4th invention is 1st or 2nd invention,
One of the first and second fixing means is a convex portion,
The other of said 1st and 2nd fixing means is the recessed part or opening part which can be fitted in the said convex part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to a fifth invention, in the first invention,
The upper portion, the lower portion, and the bent portion are manufactured by resin molding or metal processing integrally.

According to a sixth invention, in the first invention,
The flat panel display device is a liquid crystal display device including a backlight unit,
The upper portion and the lower portion are fixed so as to sandwich the backlight portion when the first and second fixing means are fixed to each other.

  A seventh invention is a flat panel display device comprising the frame according to any one of the first to sixth inventions.

  According to the first invention, the vicinity of a certain side in the upper portion and the vicinity of a certain side in the lower portion are connected by a bendable bendable portion, and therefore the side surfaces in the vicinity of the bendable portion are excluded. The upper half and the lower half of the frame can be firmly fixed by one or more sets of first and second fixing means provided on the side surface. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide fixing means at least on the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion, a frame of a flat panel display device with a reduced number of fixing means, for example, a frame for supporting a backlight portion of a liquid crystal display device is provided. be able to. By reducing the number of fixing means in this way, the possibility of losing the function of the fixing means due to damage or irreparable deformation can be reduced, and the object stored in the frame, For example, the work at the time of storing or taking out the backlight portion can be facilitated.

  According to the second invention, since the first and second fixing means are included only in the side surface parallel to the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion, the vicinity of the side connected by the bent portion (including the side surface), The upper half and the lower half of the frame can be firmly fixed by the side surface on which the second fixing means is provided.

  According to the third invention, the upper half and the lower half of the frame can be firmly fixed and the fixed state can be easily fixed by the configuration in which the hook portion having an opening, for example, is hooked on the protrusion. It can be canceled.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the upper half and the lower half of the frame can be firmly fixed and the fixed state can be easily released by the configuration in which the concave portion is fitted to the convex portion such as the protruding portion. be able to.

  According to the fifth invention, since the upper part, the lower part, and the bent part of the frame are integrally formed by resin molding or metal processing, the upper half and the lower half of the frame are also connected. This eliminates the need for a manufacturing process to be performed, thereby reducing labor and avoiding frame breakage and manufacturing errors that are likely to occur in the process. Further, when the frame is resin-molded, it is sufficient to produce only one type of mold, so that the labor and cost for producing the mold can be reduced.

  According to the sixth invention, by reducing the number of fixing means, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the function of the fixing means will be lost due to breakage or deformation that cannot be repaired, and it is housed in the frame. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate the operation when the backlight portion to be stored is stored or taken out.

  According to the seventh invention, it is possible to provide a flat panel display device including a frame that exhibits the effects of the first to sixth inventions.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment and the structure of the frame used therein will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the structure of the liquid crystal display device and its frame according to the present embodiment. The left side of the figure shows the liquid crystal display device before the frame is closed and fixed, and the right side of the figure shows the liquid crystal display device after the frame is closed and fixed.

  The present liquid crystal display device has the same shape and function as the conventional liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 2 except for the frame. That is, the present liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel 11 including the FPC board 10 having the same shape and function as the liquid crystal panel 911 including the FPC board 910 illustrated in FIG. 2, and a backlight unit 912 including the light source 922 illustrated in FIG. And a backlight unit 12 including a light source (not shown) having the same shape and function as those in FIG. 2, and an integrated frame 14 similar to the combined shape of the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 shown in FIG. Therefore, detailed description of the liquid crystal panel 11 and the backlight unit 12 is omitted.

  The frame 14 is made of, for example, a resin such as polycarbonate, and is integrally manufactured by injection molding or compression molding a resin that is a material heated by a molding machine to which a predetermined mold is attached. Thus, since the frame 14 is produced integrally, it is sufficient to produce only one type of the above-mentioned mold, so that it is possible to reduce the labor and cost for producing the mold. In addition, since a manufacturing process for connecting the upper half and the lower half of the frame is not required, it is possible to reduce the labor and avoid breakage of the frame or manufacturing errors that are likely to occur in the process. The frame 14 may be produced by a known resin molding method such as other vacuum molding. Further, the frame 14 may be a plate-like metal. In this case, the sheet metal as a material is integrally formed by processing the sheet metal as a material by a press and a stage attached with a sheet metal mold for punching (shearing) and bending the sheet metal as a predetermined shape. It is produced. In addition, you may produce with the other well-known metal processing method.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 14 includes a portion corresponding to the conventional upper frame 913 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as “upper portion of the frame 14”) and a portion corresponding to the lower frame 914 (hereinafter referred to as “frame 14”). These two portions are connected by bent portions 145a and 145b. The bent portions 145a and 145b are formed thinner than the other portions of the frame 14, and can be bent (elastically deformed here) until they are almost folded in two. The bendable angles of the bent portions 145a and 145b are not particularly limited as long as the backlight portion 12 can be stored or taken out, and may be configured to be plastically deformed unless the bent portions 145a and 145b are broken. . Further, the bent portions 145a and 145b may have a well-known structure that can be bent to store or take out the backlight portion 12, such as a hinge structure. Furthermore, the bent portions 145a and 145b connect one side of the upper portion of the frame 14 and one side of the lower portion thereof as shown in FIG. Predetermined portions near the sides may be connected to each other.

  In addition, two hook portions 141a and 141b are provided on the side surface of the upper portion of the frame 14 which is the long side of the display surface and opposite to the side surface including the side connected to the bent portions 145a and 145b. Further, on the side surface of the lower portion of the frame 14 opposite to the side surface including the above side, two claw-shaped protrusions 142a and 142b that can be fitted into the holes opened in these hook portions are provided. Yes. The upper portion of the frame 14 and the lower portion thereof fix the backlight portion 12 firmly with these hook portions being firmly hooked on the protrusions. In addition, the hook part may be a shape that can be hooked to the protrusion part. For example, the hole of the hook part may be a concave part that can be fitted to a convex part corresponding to the protrusion part. The shape may be hooked. As described above, the hook portion is fixed by being hooked on the projection portion, as described above. The hook has elasticity when the backlight portion 912 needs to be repaired or replaced later. This is because the fixing can be easily released by separating the part from the protrusion. In particular, if a cold cathode fluorescent tube (CCFT) is used as the light source, this light source is usually scheduled to be replaced several times before the device becomes unusable, so it must be fixed as described above. The structure must be easy to release.

  The structure (fixing part) for fixing the upper part and the lower part of the frame 14 is repeatedly (typically at least several times), for example, fixed by caulking in addition to the hook part and the protruding part. ) Any known structure that can be fixed and released can be used. However, the fixing portion sufficiently resists a force applied in a direction in which the upper portion and the lower portion of the fixed (closed) frame 14 are opened apart, that is, in a direction substantially along the side surface. It must be provided along the side of the frame 14 so that it can be removed, i.e. not unlocked.

  Here, unlike the upper frame 913 and the lower frame 914 shown in FIG. 2, the frame 14 of the present liquid crystal display device is provided with only two sets of hook portions and corresponding protrusions. Of course, the side surface of the frame 14 where the bent portions 145a and 145b are provided does not require a hook portion and a protrusion, and the bent portions 145a and 145b allow the frame 14 to move in the direction along the long side of the display surface. Since the positional relationship between the upper part and the lower part is less likely to occur, it is not necessary or necessary to provide hooks and protrusions on the side surface including the short side of the display surface. is there. Of course, a hook portion and a projection portion may be provided on the side surface including the short side of the display surface, but even in that case, the hook portion and the projection portion are required on the side surface where the bent portions 145a and 145b are provided. The same is not true. Therefore, with such a configuration, the number of fixing parts such as hooks and protrusions in the frame 14 to be provided for fixing the backlight part 12 of the present liquid crystal display device can be reduced.

  In addition, any one of the two hook portions 141a and 141b and the two protrusion portions 142a and 142b can be omitted. In this case, it is necessary that the upper portion and the lower portion of the frame 14 can be firmly fixed by a pair of hook portions and protrusion portions. In this regard, by providing the two hook portions 141a and 141b and the two protrusions 142a and 142b in the vicinity of both ends of the long side of the display surface and the side opposite to the side including the bent portions 145a and 145b, The four rectangular sides of the upper portion and the lower portion of the frame 14 are suitable because the backlight portion 12 is sandwiched with almost equal force.

  As described above, in the present liquid crystal display device, the backlight unit 12 is first fitted into the lower part of the frame 14 from the upper side to the lower side, and then the liquid crystal panel 11 is placed on the upper part of the frame 14 (light shielding). Then, as shown on the right side of the drawing, the upper part and the lower part of the frame 14 are closed so as to match each other, and the hook parts 141a and 141b and the projecting parts 142a and 142b are respectively hooked. . Thus, the backlight unit 12 is fixed inside the frame 14, that is, so as to be sandwiched between the upper part and the lower part of the frame 14. Thereafter, when the light source or the like needs to be replaced, the hooked portions 141a and 141b and the projections 142a and 142b are released, and the upper portion and the lower portion of the frame 14 are moved as shown on the left side of the figure. Open the door and release the backlight unit 12.

  Thus, since the upper part and the lower part of the frame 14 of the present liquid crystal display device are connected by the bent parts 145a and 145b, the hook parts 141a and 141b and the projecting parts 142a and 142b are arranged on the long side of the display surface. Thus, it can be firmly fixed only by providing it in the vicinity of both end portions of the long side opposite to the long side connected to the bent portions 145a and 145b. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a frame of a flat panel display device in which the number of fixing portions to be provided for fixing the backlight portion 12 is reduced, particularly a frame for supporting the backlight portion of the liquid crystal display device. By reducing the number of fixing portions in this way, the possibility that the function of the fixing portion will be lost due to breakage or irreparable deformation can be reduced, and the backlight portion 12 can be stored or taken out. The work at the time can be facilitated.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on this embodiment, and its flame | frame. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure of the conventional liquid crystal display device and its frame.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... FPC board 11 ... Liquid crystal panel 12 ... Backlight part 14 ... Frame 141a, 141b ... Hook part 142a, 142b ... Projection part 145a, 145b ... Bending part

Claims (7)

A frame provided in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the display unit in a flat panel display device having a rectangular display unit for displaying an image,
An upper portion having side surfaces including sides along each side of the display unit;
A lower portion having a side surface that can be arranged in substantially the same plane as the side surface included in the upper portion;
A bendable bend that connects the vicinity of one side of the side surface in the upper portion and the vicinity of a certain side of the side surface in the lower portion;
The upper portion includes first fixing means on one or more side surfaces excluding the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion,
The lower portion includes second fixing means on one or more side surfaces excluding the side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion,
The first and second fixing means are releasably fixed to each other when the side surface included in the upper portion and the side surface included in the lower portion are arranged on substantially the same plane. Frame.   2. The frame according to claim 1, wherein the first and second fixing means are included only on a side surface parallel to a side surface in the vicinity of the bent portion. One of the first and second fixing means is a protrusion,
The frame according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the other of the first and second fixing means is a hook portion that can be hooked on the protrusion. One of the first and second fixing means is a convex portion,
The frame according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the other of the first and second fixing means is a recess or an opening that can be fitted into the protrusion.   The frame according to claim 1, wherein the upper portion, the lower portion, and the bent portion are integrally formed by resin molding or metal processing. The flat panel display device is a liquid crystal display device including a backlight unit,
2. The frame according to claim 1, wherein the upper portion and the lower portion are fixed so as to sandwich the backlight portion when the first and second fixing means are fixed to each other.   A flat panel display device comprising the frame according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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