JP2009031756A - Electro-optical apparatus, metal frame of electro-optical apparatus, manufacturing method for electro-optical apparatus, manufacturing method for metal frame of electro-optical apparatus, and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a metal frame for an electro-optical apparatus for maintaining a sufficient mechanical strength with a sufficient thinness, an electro-optical apparatus with the metal frame for the electro-optical apparatus, a manufacturing method for the electro-optical apparatus, a manufacturing method for the metal frame for the electro-optical apparatus, and the electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: The electro-optical apparatus 41 includes an electro-optical panel 42, and the metal frame 45 for accommodating the electro-optical panel 42. The metal frame 45 is provided with corners 4 provided between a plurality of side walls 3. An end of at least one side wall 3 has a folded section 5 as a structure in which inner faces are internally folded until they contact each other. At least one corner 4 is formed into a seamless bent shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, a metal frame for an electro-optical device, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, a method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

  Conventionally, a display device is known as an electro-optical device manufactured using a metal frame (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this display device, a display panel is accommodated inside a metal frame via a resin frame. The metal frame is mainly used to increase the strength against load, and the side surface is bent perpendicular to the bottom surface.

  In the technical field other than the display device, the following techniques are known as a structure for reinforcing a metal box. That is, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the end portion of the steel material is bent until the inner walls of the bent portions are in contact with each other (hereinafter referred to as hemming structure), or as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the corner portion of the box Is formed by drawing.

JP 2004-240239 A (page 4, FIG. 2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-015107 (Page 2, FIGS. 9 and 10) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-136910 (pages 2 and 3, FIGS. 1 and 4)

In flat display devices such as liquid crystal devices and EL devices, it is required to reduce the thickness of the entire module including the metal frame. If the height of the side wall of the metal frame that is bent to reduce the thickness of the entire module is lowered, the strength of the metal frame is lost, and the display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an EL panel is caused due to distortion of the metal frame. The problem of breaking occurs.
Further, in a flat display device such as a liquid crystal device or an EL device, a very thin flat display panel is incorporated over almost the entire inner surface of the metal frame, so that any distortion of the metal frame occurs. Stress is applied to the display panel, causing cracks.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a metal frame for an electro-optical device and an electro-optical device that can be formed sufficiently thin while maintaining sufficient mechanical strength. To do. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device and a method for manufacturing the electro-optical device that can efficiently manufacture a thin metal frame for an electro-optical device having sufficient mechanical strength. To do.

  An electro-optical device according to the present invention includes an electro-optical panel and a metal frame that accommodates the electro-optical panel, and the metal frame includes a plurality of side walls and corner portions provided between the side walls. At least one tip of at least one of the side walls has a bent portion having a structure in which inner surfaces are bent to face each other, and at least one corner adjacent to the side wall having the bent portion is seamless. It is formed in a curved shape. The electro-optical panel is an electronic component that can change a display state by light by controlling electrical input. Examples of such an electro-optical panel include a display panel that is a component of various display devices such as a liquid crystal device, an organic EL device, a plasma display device, and the like.

  In the electro-optical device according to the present invention, the metal frame that accommodates the electro-optical panel has a bent portion at the tip part of at least a part of at least one side wall, so that the strength of the side wall can be increased. And since the side walls including the side wall having the bent portion are connected in a curved shape without a joint, the strength of the combined strength of the bent portions can be used as the strength of the metal frame. The strength of the frame can be significantly increased. For this reason, sufficient mechanical strength can be maintained even if the thickness of the metal frame is reduced. Accordingly, the metal frame according to the present invention has high strength despite being thin, so that even when the electro-optical panel is formed thin, the electro-optical panel can be protected from external stress and mechanical load by the metal frame. .

  In the electro-optical device, the bent portion may be bent inside the metal frame. This is because the outer shape of the electro-optical device can be designed to be small by making the bent portion and the bent tip end inside the metal frame, and the electro-optical device is excellent in design. In addition, the electro-optical device may employ a configuration in which a frame such as a resin is incorporated inside a metal frame and a flat display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an EL panel is incorporated in the frame. In such a case, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a frame of resin or the like is positioned using the tip of a bent portion that is bent inside the metal frame. Of course, a configuration may be adopted in which a frame made of resin or the like is disposed outside the metal frame. It may be fixed.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the corners of the curved shape of the metal frame that accommodates the electro-optical panel are formed by drawing a flat metal. Drawing is a processing method in which a flat metal material is deformed into a desired shape while being partially compressed. Since the mechanical strength of the compressed metal material is increased, the strength of the corner portion formed by drawing is stronger than the metal material in a flat state. According to the aspect of the present invention, the mechanical strength of the metal frame can be further increased by the cooperation of the side wall having the bent portion and the corner portion formed by drawing.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, the metal frame may further include a bottom portion having a rectangular planar shape, for example, a rectangular shape or a square shape, and the side wall having the bent portion is formed on the bottom portion. It can be provided on four sides. If a side wall having a bent portion is provided on all four sides of the bottom, the strength of the metal frame can be further increased. In this case, the corners can be provided by drawing at all four points between the four side walls. In this way, the strength of the metal frame can be further increased.

  The plurality of side walls may be provided on four sides of the bottom, and at least three of the four sides may have a bent portion, and at least one of the four sides is cut into an intermediate portion. The corners can be provided, and the corners can be provided at each of four points between the side walls formed on the four sides. FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) as a wiring board that is mounted on an electro-optic panel housed in a metal frame when there is a side with a notch in the middle. Etc. can be derived. However, it is conceivable that the strength of the metal frame is lowered at the side having the notch in the middle part, but if the corners are formed by drawing at both ends of the side, the reduction in strength is suppressed as much as possible. be able to.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the metal frame has a notch portion at a front end of a side wall between the bent portion and the corner portion. If a notch is provided at the end of the side wall between the bent part and the corner part, stress is dispersed at the notch part when the bent part is formed, and the influence of the stress transmitted to the corner part is reduced. Can do. Further, when the corner portion is formed, the stress is dispersed in the notch portion, and the influence due to the stress being transmitted to the bent portion can be reduced. Further, by forming the cutout portion, the height of the side wall where the bent portion is formed and the height of the corner portion can be made the same.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the present invention, the bent portions have inner surfaces that are in contact with each other.

  Next, a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention has a plurality of side walls and corner portions provided between the side walls, and at least a tip of at least one of the side walls has an inner surface. It has a bending part which is the structure bent inside until it mutually opposes, At least 1 said corner | angular part is formed in the curved shape without a joint, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention is used, for example, as a frame for storing and protecting electronic components, or as a frame for collectively storing a plurality of electronic components. As the electronic component, various components constituting a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal device, an organic EL device, a plasma display device, and the like can be considered. The metal frame of the present invention is a box-type, dish-type, or tray-type container having a bottom, side walls, and corners.

  Since the metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention has the bent portion at the tip part of at least a part of at least one side wall, the strength of the side wall can be increased. And since the side walls including the side wall having the bent portion are connected in a curved shape without a joint, the strength of the combined strength of the bent portions can be used as the strength of the metal frame. The strength of the frame can be significantly increased. For this reason, sufficient mechanical strength can be maintained even if the thickness of the metal frame is reduced.

  Next, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the present invention includes a metal frame forming step of forming a metal frame having a plurality of side walls and corner portions provided between the side walls, and an electro-optical panel on the metal frame. An electro-optic panel housing step, and the metal frame forming step includes at least one of the regions serving as at least one side wall of a bent portion having a structure in which a flat plate is bent with inner surfaces facing each other. Side wall / corner part formed by bending process for forming at the tip of the part and bending process for bending the region to be the plurality of side walls so that the folded region is inside, and forming the corner part by drawing process Forming step. The side wall / corner portion forming step is performed using an internal mold disposed in an area which is an inside of the flat metal frame and an external mold disposed in an area which is an outside of the metal frame, The internal mold has a movable mold arranged corresponding to the area to be the corner, and the movable mold includes an intermediate section having a shape forming the corner and a perpendicular direction from the intermediate section. It is formed by a pair of extended branch parts. The movable mold is movable in both the expanding direction and the narrowing direction, and the bending process for forming the side wall and the drawing process for forming the corner portion are performed by the movable mold inside the metal frame. The step of extracting the internal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in cooperation with the internal mold and the external mold in a state where the movable mold is squeezed inside the metal frame. Done by working.

  According to the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device having this configuration, a metal frame having a plurality of side walls having bent portions and corner portions provided between the side walls can be accurately manufactured. In addition, these side walls and corners can be formed simultaneously in the side wall / corner forming step, which is one step. For this reason, it is possible to manufacture a metal frame having a very strong strength in spite of being thin in a short time and at a low cost with a small number of steps.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing the electro-optical device according to the invention, the pair of movable molds can move in the direction of squeezing between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other. It is desirable that a space be provided, and it is desirable that this space be provided at a position offset to one of the corners rather than the central part of the side wall of the metal frame. Since the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where the mold does not exist, the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space may deteriorate the dimensional accuracy after processing. If this portion is provided corresponding to the central portion of each side wall, the overall strength of the metal frame may be reduced because it is located away from the corner portion where the strength is high. If it is provided corresponding to a position that is out of position, that is, a position close to any one of the corners (a portion having high strength), it is possible to suppress a decrease in the overall strength of the metal frame. Therefore, it is desirable that the space provided between the plurality of movable molds is provided at a position that is offset to one of the corners rather than the central part of the side wall of the metal frame.

  In the electro-optical device manufacturing method according to the present invention, a space that allows the pair of movable molds to move in a narrowing direction between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other. It is desirable that the space be provided corresponding to a portion of the side wall of the metal frame having a large dimensional accuracy tolerance. This is because the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where the mold does not exist, and the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space may deteriorate the dimensional accuracy after processing. Which part of the metal frame has a large or small tolerance of dimensional accuracy is determined by the shape of the metal frame itself, the shape of the electronic component accommodated in the metal frame, or the like. For example, when the gap between the side wall of the metal frame and the stored item is inevitably narrow in design, the tolerance of dimensional accuracy is reduced, so avoid providing the above space at a position corresponding to this part. It is desirable.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the present invention, it is desirable that the internal mold further includes an auxiliary mold that fills a space between adjacent movable molds when the movable mold is in an expanded state. . The auxiliary mold is movable in both the expanding direction and the narrowing direction. The bending process for the side walls and the drawing process for the corners are performed by the auxiliary molds of the frame. It is preferable that the step of pulling out the internal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in a state where the auxiliary mold is squeezed inside the metal frame.

  As described above, the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where there is no mold, so if no measures are taken, the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space has a dimensional accuracy after processing. May be worse. On the other hand, if the auxiliary mold is used to fill the space between the movable molds as in the embodiment of the present invention, the bending process for forming the side wall can be accurately performed by the auxiliary mold. The dimensional accuracy of the side wall can be prevented from partially deteriorating.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing the electro-optical device according to the invention, it is preferable that the movable mold is urged in an expanding direction or a squeezing direction by an elastic force, and is further pressed by a pressing member. It is desirable to move in the direction of shrinking or the direction of spreading against elastic force. With this configuration, the movable mold can be moved between the machining position and the retracted position easily, reliably and quickly.

  Further, according to the method of manufacturing a metal frame according to the present invention in which an auxiliary die is provided in addition to the movable die, the movable die and the auxiliary die are each in the direction in which the elastic die expands or the swell. It is desirable to be urged in the full direction, and it is desirable that each of them be moved by the pressing member in the direction of squeezing or expanding against the elastic force. With this configuration, the movable mold and the auxiliary mold can be easily and reliably moved between the machining position and the retracted position.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention, at least one bent portion having a structure in which a flat plate has a plurality of side wall regions and the inner surfaces are bent to face each other. Forming the plurality of side walls by bending so that the bent regions are inside, and forming the plurality of side walls; And a side wall / corner portion forming step of forming a corner region provided between the regions by drawing. The side wall / corner portion forming step is performed using an internal mold disposed in an area which is an inside of the flat metal frame and an external mold disposed in an area which is an outside of the metal frame, The internal mold has a movable mold arranged corresponding to the area to be the corner, and the movable mold includes an intermediate section having a shape forming the corner and a perpendicular direction from the intermediate section. It is formed by a pair of extended branch parts. The movable mold is movable in both the expanding direction and the narrowing direction, and the bending process for the side wall and the drawing process for the corner portion are performed by expanding the movable mold inside the metal frame. The step of pulling out the internal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in cooperation with the internal mold and the external mold in a state where the movable mold is squeezed inside the metal frame. Done.

  According to the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device having this configuration, a metal frame having a plurality of side walls having bent portions and corner portions provided between the side walls can be accurately manufactured. In addition, these side walls and corners can be formed simultaneously in the side wall / corner forming step, which is one step. For this reason, it is possible to manufacture a metal frame having a very strong strength in spite of being thin in a short time and at a low cost with a small number of steps.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention, the pair of movable molds moves in a direction in which the pair of movable molds is retracted between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other. It is desirable that a space to be enabled is provided, and it is desirable that this space is provided at a position offset to any one of the corners rather than the central part of the side wall of the metal frame. Since the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where the mold does not exist, the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space may deteriorate the dimensional accuracy after processing. If this portion is provided corresponding to the central portion of each side wall, the overall strength of the metal frame may be reduced because it is located away from the corner portion where the strength is high. If it is provided corresponding to a position that is out of position, that is, a position close to any one of the corners (a portion having high strength), it is possible to suppress a decrease in the overall strength of the metal frame. Therefore, it is desirable that the space provided between the plurality of movable molds is provided at a position that is offset to one of the corners rather than the central part of the side wall of the metal frame.

  Further, in the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention, the pair of movable molds can move in the direction of squeezing between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other. It is desirable that a space is provided corresponding to a portion of the side wall of the metal frame having a large dimensional accuracy tolerance. This is because the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where the mold does not exist, and the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space may deteriorate the dimensional accuracy after processing. Which part of the metal frame has a large or small tolerance of dimensional accuracy is determined by the shape of the metal frame itself, the shape of the electronic component accommodated in the metal frame, or the like. For example, when the gap between the side wall of the metal frame and the stored item is inevitably narrow in design, the tolerance of dimensional accuracy is reduced, so avoid providing the above space at a position corresponding to this part. It is desirable.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention, the internal mold further includes an auxiliary mold that fills a space between adjacent movable molds when the movable mold is in an expanded state. It is desirable. The auxiliary mold is movable in both the expanding direction and the narrowing direction. The bending process for the side walls and the drawing process for the corners are performed by the auxiliary molds of the frame. It is preferable that the step of pulling out the internal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in a state where the auxiliary mold is squeezed inside the metal frame.

  As described above, the space formed between the movable molds adjacent to each other is a portion where there is no mold, so if no measures are taken, the side wall of the portion corresponding to this space has a dimensional accuracy after processing. May be worse. On the other hand, if the auxiliary mold is used to fill the space between the movable molds as in the embodiment of the present invention, the bending process for forming the side wall can be accurately performed by the auxiliary mold. The dimensional accuracy of the side wall can be prevented from partially deteriorating.

  Next, in the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention, the movable mold is preferably urged in the expanding direction or the squeezing direction by an elastic force, and is further pressed by a pressing member. Accordingly, it is desirable to move in the shrinking direction or the expanding direction against the elastic force. With this configuration, the movable mold can be moved between the machining position and the retracted position easily, reliably and quickly.

  Further, according to the method for manufacturing the electro-optic device frame according to the present invention having the auxiliary mold in addition to the movable mold, the movable mold and the auxiliary mold are each expanded in the direction by an elastic force. Alternatively, it is desirable to be urged in the direction of squeezing, and it is desirable that each of them be moved by the squeezing direction or the direction of expansion against the elastic force by being pressed by a pressing member. With this configuration, the movable mold and the auxiliary mold can be easily and reliably moved between the machining position and the retracted position.

  Next, an apparatus for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention includes an internal mold disposed inside a metal frame having a plurality of side walls and corner portions provided between the side walls, and the metal mold. And an external mold disposed outside the frame. The internal mold has a movable mold disposed to face the corner portion. The movable die is formed by an intermediate portion having a shape corresponding to the corner portion and a pair of branch portions extending from the intermediate portion in a direction perpendicular to each other, and the movable die includes the side wall and the corner portion. It is possible to move between an expanded position that contacts the inner peripheral surface and a constricted position that is in a state of being narrower than the expanded position.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus for a metal frame for an electro-optical device having this configuration, a metal frame having a plurality of side walls having bent portions at least partially and corner portions provided between the side walls can be accurately manufactured. . Moreover, by moving the movable mold between the expanded position and the narrowed position, it is possible to simultaneously perform the bending process on the side walls and the drawing process on the corners in one process. For this reason, it is possible to manufacture a metal frame having a very strong strength in spite of being thin in a short time and at a low cost with a small number of steps.

  In the electro-optical device frame manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, as in the above-described metal frame manufacturing method, the internal molds are movable molds adjacent to each other when the movable mold is in the expanded position. It is desirable to further include an auxiliary mold that fills the gap, and the auxiliary mold has an expanded position where the outer peripheral surface of the auxiliary mold coincides with the outer peripheral surface of the branch portion of the movable mold and the expanded position. It is desirable to be able to move between the constricted positions that are in a constricted state.

  Next, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described electro-optical device. Examples of the electro-optical device include a liquid crystal device, an organic EL device, and a plasma display device.

  Since the metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention has a bent portion at the tip part of at least a part of the side wall, the strength of the side wall can be increased. And since the side wall in which the bending part was formed is connected by the curved shape without a joint, the intensity | strength which combined the intensity | strength of each bending part can be used as the intensity | strength of the whole metal frame, Therefore The overall strength can be significantly increased. For this reason, sufficient mechanical strength can be maintained even if the thickness of the metal frame is reduced. Therefore, the electronic apparatus including the electro-optical device metal frame according to the present invention has high strength despite being thin. Therefore, even when the electro-optical panel of the electro-optical device is formed thin, the electro-optical panel is mounted by the metal frame. Can protect against mechanical loads.

(First embodiment of metal frame for electro-optical device)
Hereinafter, a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In the drawings used in the description, the dimensional ratio may be different from the actual one in order to show the characteristic parts in an easy-to-understand manner.

  FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention. FIG. 1B shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the corner of the metal frame. In FIG. 1A, a metal frame 1 is formed by processing a stainless steel plate (SUS) having a predetermined thickness, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, preferably 0.2 mm. The illustrated plate thickness of the steel plate forming the metal frame 1 is drawn thicker than the actual thickness. The metal frame 1 has a rectangular or rectangular bottom 2, side walls 3 provided on four sides of the bottom 2, and corners 4 provided between the side walls 3.

  A bent portion 5 is provided at the tip (upper end in the figure) of each side wall 3. The bent portion 5 is a hemming structure that is a bent structure formed by bending until the inner surfaces come into contact with each other. A notch portion 6 is provided between the bent portion 5 and the corner portion 4. If the notched portion 6 is provided on the side wall between the bent portion 5 and the corner 4 in this way, the stress is dispersed at the notched portion 6 when the bent portion 5 is formed, and the stress is transmitted to the corner portion 4. The influence by this can be reduced. Further, when the corner portion 4 is formed, the stress is dispersed at the notched portion, and the influence of the stress transmitted to the bent portion 5 can be reduced. Further, by forming the notch portion 6, the height of the side wall 3 where the bent portion 5 is formed and the height of the corner portion 4 can be made the same. The bending portion 5 is formed by forming a SUS steel plate of the side wall 3 in a wide width including a bending margin and bending the bending margin with a processing machine. By providing the bent portion 5 at the tip of the side wall 3, the strength of the metal frame 1 against the load applied to the metal frame 1 from the top, bottom, left and right directions and the strength of the metal frame 1 against the bending force applied to the metal frame 1 can be increased.

  The side wall 3 itself is a flat plate portion extending outward from the bottom portion 2, and the flat plate portion having a bent portion at the tip is bent by approximately 90 ° by a processing machine so that the bent region of the bent portion is inside. It is formed by. The height L1 of the side wall 3 is, for example, 1 mm to 2 mm, preferably 1.2 mm. The length L2 of the bent portion of the bent portion 5 is, for example, 0.6 mm. The illustrated side wall 3 is drawn higher than the actual one.

  A corner 4 is provided between each of the four side walls 3. The corner portion 4 is provided in a state of standing at an angle of approximately 90 ° from the bottom portion 2 and is curved in an arc shape with an axis perpendicular to the bottom portion 2 as a center. The curvature of the corner 4 shown in the figure is drawn larger than the actual one. The corner 4 is formed by drawing. That is, the corner portion 4 has an inner mold having a curved shape matching the inner curved shape of the corner portion 4 on the inner surface side of the flat plate portion extending outward from the bottom portion 2, and further has a corner on the outer surface side of the flat plate portion. An external mold having a curved shape that matches the external curved shape of the portion 4 is arranged, and these molds are translated in a direction perpendicular to the bottom portion 2 so that the internal mold and the external mold are It is formed by cooperating. Since the corner portion 4 is formed by drawing the flat plate-shaped steel plate in this way, the corner portion 4 has a seamless curved shape. By the function of the corner portions 4 without joints, the bent portions 5 of the side walls 3 adjacent to each other across the corner portions 4 interact with each other to further increase the load bearing strength and the bending strength.

  The inner peripheral surface of the corner portion 4 that has undergone the drawing process is in a state where the steel sheet is contracted (that is, a state in which the steel plate is contracted) as compared with a flat plate state. The narrowed state is a state in which the structures constituting the steel plate are arranged at high density, and the mechanical strength is increased. For this reason, the metal frame 1 having a configuration in which the corner portion 4 is provided by drawing processing has a high strength against loads from the top, bottom, left and right directions, and also has a high strength against bending force. In particular, in the present embodiment, the corner portions 4 are formed by drawing, and the bent portions 5 are provided at the tips of the side walls 3 sandwiching the corner portions 4, so that the overall strength of the metal frame 1 is increased. Therefore, even if the overall height of the metal frame 1 is as low as about 1 mm to 2 mm (that is, even if the thickness is very thin), the electronic component housed inside It can have enough strength to protect.

  In the present embodiment, the heights of the four side walls 3 having the bent portions 5 from the bottom surfaces (rear surfaces in the drawing) of the bottom portions 2 are all set equal. The height of the four corners 4 is also set to be substantially the same as the height of the side wall 3. However, the heights of the four side walls 3 may be varied as required. For example, one side wall 3 can be lower or higher than the other three side walls 3. Moreover, the four side walls 3 can be grouped into two groups, and the height of one group can be made lower than the height of the other group. Alternatively, each of the four side walls 3 may have different heights. Moreover, in this embodiment, it is not restricted to this, You may form so that the area | region where the bending part of the bending part might be outside the flat plate part by which the bending part was given to the front-end | tip.

(Second embodiment of metal frame for electro-optical device)
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention. 2, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same members, and description of those members is omitted. The metal frame 21 shown here is different from the metal frame 1 shown in FIG. 1 in that the side wall 3 corresponding to the short side on the front side among the side walls 3 provided on the four sides of the bottom part 2 is bent at the tip thereof. It does not have the part 5, but has the notch 11 in the intermediate part. A bent portion 5 is provided at the tip of the side wall 3 corresponding to the remaining three sides. Further, corner portions 4 are provided at each of four locations between the side walls 3 provided on the four sides of the bottom portion 2. That is, the corner | angular part 4 is provided also on the both sides of the side wall 3 in which the notch 11 was provided.

  In addition, the depth of the notch 11 of this embodiment is substantially the same as the height of the side wall 3, and the upper region of the bottom 2 is directly the notch 11. However, the depth of the notch 11 is set to an appropriate dimension as required. When the depth of the notch 11 is smaller (that is, shallower) than the height of the side wall 3 of the other side portion, the side wall 3 having a low height is provided between the notch 11 and the bottom 2. .

  The metal frame 21 provided with the notch 11 is a metal frame suitable for housing an electronic component to which an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) substrate is connected. If the FPC board connected to the electronic component is withdrawn to the outside through the notch 11 in a state where the electronic component is housed in the metal frame 21, it is impossible to apply the FPC board to the outside without applying an unnecessary load. It can be pulled out without.

  In the present embodiment, the bent portion 5 is provided at the tip of the three side walls 3 of the metal frame 21, and the corner portions 4 are formed between all four side walls 3 by drawing. That is, the corner 4 is formed by drawing at both ends of the side wall 3 where the notch 11 is provided and the bent part 5 is not provided. The method for forming the bent portion 5 and the corner portion 4 is the same as that for manufacturing the metal frame 1 of FIG. In the present embodiment, it is conceivable that the mechanical strength of the metal frame 21 decreases at a portion where the bent portion 5 is not present. However, since the corner portions 4 are formed by drawing at both ends of the side portion where the bent portion 5 is not present, a reduction in mechanical strength can be minimized. Also in this embodiment, the flat plate portion having the bent portion at the tip may be formed so that the bent region of the bent portion is on the outside.

(First embodiment of manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of metal frame for electro-optical device)
Next, a manufacturing method for manufacturing the electro-optical device metal frame 1 shown in FIG. 1 and a manufacturing apparatus for realizing the manufacturing method will be described.
FIG. 3 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to this embodiment. 4 to 6 show a process until the SUS steel plate is formed on the metal frame. FIG. 4 shows a developed state of the steel plate, FIG. 5 shows a state where a bent portion is formed, and FIG. The frame completion state is shown. 4 and 6, (a) is a plan view, and (b) and (c) are side views. 5A is a plan view, and FIGS. 5B and 5C are side cross-sectional views.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to this embodiment includes a bending process P <b> 1 and a subsequent side wall / corner part forming process P <b> 2. In the bending process P1, a flat plate-shaped SUS steel plate 7 shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C is supplied. In the steel plate 7, a portion indicated by reference numeral 2 surrounded by a chain line is a portion corresponding to the bottom portion 2 in FIG. Reference numeral 8 denotes a portion that becomes the side wall 3 in FIG. Reference numeral 9 denotes a portion that becomes the corner portion 4 in FIG. Reference numeral 10 denotes a portion corresponding to the bending allowance of the bending portion 5 in FIG. In the figure, the tip of the corner corresponding portion 9 is drawn with a right angle of 90 °. However, in actuality, after drawing, the top of the corner 4 is made as horizontal as possible so that it is not a right angle. It is formed in an appropriate shape.

  In the bending process P1, the bending allowance 10 in FIG. 4 (a) is bent toward one main surface of the steel plate 7, and the inner surfaces are as shown by reference numeral 5 in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c). Bending portions that are folding structures that contact each other are applied. Next, the side wall / corner portion forming step P2 is performed. This process P2 is performed using, for example, the internal mold 12 and the external mold 13 shown in FIGS. The internal mold 12 includes four movable molds 14 arranged along the outer edge line of the bottom portion 2 of the metal frame, an elastic force applying mechanism 15 (see FIG. 8) for applying an elastic force to the movable molds 14, and And a pressing member 16 (see FIG. 7) for pressing the movable mold 14.

  Although the elastic force applying mechanism 15 is schematically drawn like a spring in FIG. 8, it is actually configured appropriately as required. Basically, however, the elastic force applying mechanism 15 translates each of the four movable molds 14 inward, and applies an elastic force, for example, a spring force, in a direction in which they sag toward the central portion. The movable mold 14 includes an intermediate portion 14a having a curved shape that matches the curved shape of the inner peripheral surface of the corner portion 4 in FIG. 14b. The lengths of the pair of branch portions 14b and 14b are slightly different from each other. Therefore, the movable die 14 is configured in a substantially L shape. A space 17 is provided between the branch portions 14b of the pair of movable molds 14 adjacent to each other.

  These spaces 17 are spaces for allowing the movement of each movable die 14 when the movable die 14 squeezes toward the inner center. The positions of the spaces 17 with respect to the side walls 3 are not limited to special positions, and may be positions corresponding to the central part of the side walls 3 or may be offset from one of the movable molds 14 away from the central part. It may be the position. Since the positions where these spaces 17 exist are portions where the mold does not exist, the bending accuracy of the side walls 3 corresponding to the spaces 17 tends to be slightly lowered when the side walls 3 are formed from the steel plate by bending. is there. Therefore, it is desirable that these spaces 17 are provided corresponding to portions where the tolerance of the dimensional accuracy of the side wall 3 is large, that is, portions where the dimensional accuracy may be slightly deteriorated. Further, the load resistance and bending resistance of the side wall 3 corresponding to these spaces 17 may be lowered. Accordingly, it is preferable that the space 17 is at a position offset to any one of the intermediate portions 14a rather than the central portion of the side wall 3.

  When the steel plate 7 of FIG. 5 (a) in the state where the bending step P1 of FIG. 3 is completed is carried into the side wall / corner portion forming step P2 of FIG. 3, the steel plate 7 is bent as shown in FIG. 5 is placed on the table 18 with the face up. Then, the movable mold 14 of the internal mold 12 is pressed against a portion corresponding to the bottom 2 on the upper main surface of the steel plate 7. At this time, the movable die 14 is set at an expanded position where the movable die 14 is opened outward by the pressing member 16. Further, the external mold 13 provided around the table 18 is pressed against the lower main surface of the steel plate 7 in the outer part of the movable mold 14 of the internal mold 12. Further, the external mold 13 is translated upward relative to the internal mold 12 with the internal mold 12 fixed on the table 18. In this way, by causing the inner mold 12 and the outer mold to cooperate, the side wall 3 having the bent portion 5 is formed on the peripheral portion of the bottom portion 2 as shown in FIGS. Formed by bending at an angle of approximately 90 °, and at the same time, corners 4 are formed by drawing between adjacent side walls 3. Thus, the metal frame 1 is formed. At this time, the branch part 14b of each movable mold 14 shown in FIG. 8 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the side wall 3 in the lower part of the bent part 5 of the bent side wall 3 as shown in FIG. 9B. It is in a state.

  Next, in FIG. 7, the pressing member 16 of the internal mold 12 is moved upward as indicated by an arrow B. As a result, the four movable molds 14 move in parallel so as to narrow toward the center portion by the action of the elastic force applying mechanism 15 of FIG. As a result, the branching portion 14b of the movable mold 14 that has been in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the side wall 3 as shown in FIG. 9B moves inward as shown by an arrow C in FIG. It is arranged in a region outside the part 5. Next, in FIG. 7, the entire internal mold 12 is lifted upward, and the internal mold 12 is pulled out from the metal frame 1. At this time, since the movable die 14 has moved in advance to the inside of the bent portion 5, the movable die 14 does not hit the bent portion 5 when the internal mold 12 is pulled out.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the metal frame 1 shown in FIG. 1A, that is, the corner portion formed by drawing between the side walls 3 adjacent to each other, having the bent portion 5 at the tip of the side wall 3. The metal frame 1 having 4 can be accurately manufactured. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the side wall / corner portion forming step P2 of FIG. 3 is performed using the movable mold 14 that is slidable between the expanded position and the narrowed position. Both the side walls 3 and the corners 4 of a) can be formed simultaneously in one step, which is very efficient.

  Furthermore, the space 17 provided between the branch portions 14b of the movable mold 14 adjacent to each other in order to allow the movable mold 14 to move in a constricted manner is located at a position corresponding to the central portion of the side wall 3. It exists in the position which shifted to any one of the intermediate parts 14a rather than the center part. Since the portion corresponding to the space 17 is a portion where no mold exists, the processing accuracy of the side wall 3 corresponding to this portion is lowered, and in some cases, the mechanical strength of the side wall 3 may be reduced. . Therefore, if this part exists in the center part of the side wall 3, there exists a possibility that the mechanical strength as the whole metal frame 1 may fall. Further, the corner portion 4 of the metal frame formed by the intermediate portion 14a is increased in strength by drawing. On the other hand, since the central portion of the side wall 3 is separated from the corner portion 4 having high strength, the strength is lower than that of the corner portion 4. For this reason, it is not preferable to match the central portion of the low-strength sidewall 3 with the space 17. However, in this embodiment, the space 17 is provided at a position shifted from the central portion of the side wall 3, that is, at a position close to the corner portion 4 formed by drawing, so that the mechanical properties of the side wall 3 of the finished metal frame 1 are increased. It can prevent that intensity falls remarkably.

(Comparative example of manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of electro-optical device frame)
The metal frame for an electro-optical device according to the present invention can be manufactured by a method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device described below and a comparative example of the manufacturing device. In the above embodiment, in the side wall / corner portion forming step P2 in FIG. 3, the bending processing of the side wall 3 and the drawing processing of the corner portion 4 in FIG. In this comparative example, the side wall 3 is first bent, and then the corner 4 is drawn. For example, in the bending process of the side wall 3, as shown in FIG. 10A, the inner mold including the linear movable mold 24 and the elastic force applying mechanism 15 having no corners is used as the bottom 2 of the metal frame 1. The bending process for the side wall 3 is performed in a state where the movable die 24 is installed at a position corresponding to (shown by a chain line) and the movable die 24 is expanded to the expanded position against the elastic force by the elastic force applying mechanism 15. . At this time, the position of the movable mold 24 with respect to the side wall 3 is a position in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the side wall 3 as indicated by reference numeral 14b in FIG. 9B. When the side wall 3 is formed by bending using the linear movable mold 24 in this way, the movable mold 24 does not have a mold at a position corresponding to the corner 4 of the metal frame 1 in FIG. Although formed, the curved shape of the corner 4 is not accurately formed.

  Next, the steel plate on which the side wall 3 is formed is conveyed to a different processing step, for example, with the internal mold 25 as shown in FIG. 10 (b) installed at a position corresponding to the bottom 2 of the metal frame 1, The corner 4 of the metal frame 1 is formed by drawing. Thereby, the metal frame 1 shown to Fig.1 (a) is completed. Thereafter, the internal mold 25 is extracted outside the completed metal frame 1. Relief portions 26 are formed in advance on the peripheral surfaces of the four sides of the inner mold 25 so as to retreat inward, and the inner mold 25 is bent by the bent portions 5 of the side wall 3 (see FIG. 1). By avoiding (see (a)), it is possible to freely enter the inside of the metal frame 1 and to freely go outside the metal frame 1.

  Note that, as in this comparative example, the bending process for the side wall 3 and the drawing process for the corner 4 can be performed separately. If possible, the substantially L-shape shown in FIG. It is desirable to perform the bending process of the side wall 3 and the squeezing process of the corner portion 4 at the same time by using the movable mold 14 that can slide. This is because the number of processing machines and processing steps can be reduced and the processing time can be shortened.

(Second Embodiment of Manufacturing Method and Manufacturing Apparatus for Electro-Optical Device Metal Frame)
Hereinafter, another embodiment of a method and apparatus for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device will be described.
FIG. 11A to FIG. 11C show the main part of the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for the electro-optical device metal frame according to the present embodiment. In this manufacturing apparatus, an internal mold is formed by four movable molds 34 arranged on the diagonal of the metal frame 1 and four auxiliary molds 35 arranged at positions facing the side walls 3 of the metal frame 1. Has been. The movable die 34 has an intermediate portion 34a having an outer peripheral surface shape that matches the inner peripheral surface shape of the corner portion 4 of the metal frame 1 in FIG. 1 (a), and a length extending from the intermediate portion 34a in a direction perpendicular to each other. A right-angle block shape is constituted by a pair of equal branch portions 34b. The auxiliary mold 35 is formed by a linear block having an appropriate length.

  The movable die 34 can be moved in parallel as shown by an arrow D between the concavity position shown in FIG. 11A and the expanded position shown in FIG. 11B, and the embodiment shown in FIG. As in the case of, the elastic force is applied in the constriction direction by an elastic force applying mechanism (not shown in FIG. 11), and the elastic member is pushed and expanded to the expanded position by a pressing member (not shown). . The outer peripheral surface of the movable die 34 in the expanded position is in a state located along the outer edge of the bottom portion 2 of the metal frame. On the other hand, the auxiliary mold 35 can be moved in parallel as shown by an arrow E between the concavity position shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B and the expansion position shown in FIG. Further, similarly to the movable die 34, it is elastically biased in the constriction direction by an elastic force applying mechanism (not shown) and is pushed and expanded to a spread position by a pressing member (not shown). The auxiliary mold 35 (see FIG. 11C) in the expanded position fills the space 17 between the branch portions 34b of the movable mold 34 in the expanded position with almost no gap.

  In the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the side wall of FIG. 3 is applied to the steel plate 7 provided with the bent portion 5 as shown in FIG. The corner portion forming step P2 is performed, and the side wall 3 and the corner portion 4 of FIG. 1 are formed simultaneously. Specifically, when the movable mold 34 and the auxiliary mold 35 are in the constricted state shown in FIG. 11A, the molds 34 and 35 are placed on the surface of the portion corresponding to the bottom 2 of the metal frame. Placed. Next, as shown in FIG. 11B, the movable mold 34 is expanded to the expanded position, and the auxiliary mold 35 is further expanded to the expanded position as illustrated in FIG. 11C. The auxiliary mold 35 expanded to the expansion position is disposed so as to fill the space 17 formed between the branch portions 34b of the movable molds 34 adjacent to each other. As a result, the outer peripheral surface of the internal mold becomes a substantially continuous and uniform surface with almost no discontinuous portions.

  Next, an external mold (not shown) is relatively translated with respect to the internal mold in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. Thus, by making the inner mold 12 and the outer mold cooperate, the side wall 3 in FIG. 1 is formed by bending, and at the same time, the corner 4 is formed by drawing. Next, as shown in FIGS. 11 (b) and 11 (a), the auxiliary mold 35 is retracted to the inside, and the movable mold 34 is further retracted to the inside. Then, the internal mold is extracted outside the completed metal frame 1. At this time, since the movable mold 34 and the auxiliary mold 35 are in a state of being recessed in advance, the movable mold 34 and the auxiliary mold 35 do not collide with the bent portion 5 protruding to the inside. According to the present embodiment, since the auxiliary mold 35 is disposed between the movable molds 34 adjacent to each other, no space is formed between the movable molds 34. For this reason, there is no place where the bending process of the side wall 3 becomes insufficient, and a uniform and highly accurate bending process can be performed over the entire outer peripheral surface of the side wall 3. The bending strength can be increased, and it is possible to prevent the side wall 3 from being partially weakened.

(Embodiment of electro-optical device)
Next, an electro-optical device according to the invention will be described based on an embodiment.
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the electro-optical device according to this embodiment. FIG. 13 shows a side cross-sectional structure taken along line FF in FIG. 12 in a state where the electro-optical device is assembled. This embodiment exemplifies a case where the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal device as an electro-optical device. The present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal device having the illustrated configuration, and the electro-optical device is not limited to the liquid crystal device. For example, an organic EL device, a plasma display device, or the like can be employed.

  In FIG. 12, the liquid crystal device 41 includes a liquid crystal panel 42 as an electro-optical panel, a resin frame 43, a lighting device 44, and a metal frame 45. The metal frame 45 is configured by a metal frame 21 shown in FIG. 2, that is, a metal frame having a notch 11 on the side wall 3 corresponding to one short side of the bottom portion 2 without the bent portion 5. Yes. Of course, the metal frame 45 can also be constituted by the metal frame 1 shown in FIG. In the metal frame 45, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1 indicate the same members, and the description of the members is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the resin frame 43 is disposed inside the metal frame 45, the lighting device 44 is incorporated in the lower part of the resin frame 43, and the liquid crystal panel 42 is incorporated in the upper part of the resin frame 43. The resin frame 43 is held (fixed) at the level difference of the bent portion 5 of the metal frame 45.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a resin frame 64 may be further formed outside the side wall 3 of the metal frame 45. For example, the resin frame 43 and the resin frame 64 are integrated and cover at least a part of the side wall 3 of the metal frame 45. At least a part of the side wall 3 of the metal frame 45 is embedded in the resin frame 43 and the resin frame 64. In this way, by forming the resin frame 64 on the outer side of the side wall 3 of the metal frame 45 in addition to the resin frame 43, it is possible to relieve the external stress on the metal frame 45. That is, the strength of the metal frame 45 itself is increased.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the upper part of the metal frame 45 is sandwiched and held (fixed) between the bent portion 5 of the metal frame 45 and the resin frame 43 so that the upper frame 65 made of metal or resin faces. It may be.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the illumination device 44 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 47 as a light source mounted on the surface of the LED FPC 46, and a flat light guide 48 formed of a transparent resin. The light reflection sheet 49 and the light diffusion sheet 50 are included. The LED 47 is driven by an external control circuit via the FPC 46 and lights up with a desired light amount. The point light emission from the LED 47 is introduced into the light guide 48 from the side surface of the light guide 48 and is emitted as planar light from the main surface of the light guide 48 on the liquid crystal panel 42 side to illuminate the liquid crystal panel 42. To do.

  The liquid crystal panel 42 has a pair of substrates 52 and 53. These substrates are formed in a rectangular plate shape by glass, for example. These substrates are bonded to each other in a peripheral region inside them by a sealing material formed of an epoxy resin or the like. A cell gap which is a gap of about 5 μm, for example, is formed between the substrates 52 and 53, and liquid crystal which is a light modulation element is sealed in the cell gap. Polarizing plates 54a and 54b are attached to the outer surfaces of the substrates 52 and 53, respectively. The polarization transmission axes of the polarizing plates 54a and 54b (see FIG. 3) intersect at a predetermined angle. If necessary, a retardation plate may be provided between the polarizing plates 54a and 54b and the substrates 52 and 53. The driving IC 55 is mounted on the surface of the lower substrate 52 that protrudes outward from the upper substrate 53 in the figure by COG (Chip On Glass) technology using an ACF (Anisotropic Conductive Film). Yes. The driving IC 55 includes a scanning line driving circuit, a data line driving circuit, and other circuits. An LCD FPC 56 is connected to the side edge portion of the lower substrate 52 by, for example, ACF, and an RGB image signal or the like is transmitted from an external control circuit to the driving IC 55 via the LCD FPC 56.

  The liquid crystal panel 42 is driven by an arbitrary liquid crystal driving method, for example, a simple matrix method or an active matrix method. The operation mode of the liquid crystal panel 42 is an arbitrary operation mode, for example, TN (Twisted Nematic), STN (Super Twisted Nematic), VA (Vertical Aligned Nematic), ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefringence). Each mode such as IPS (In-Plain Switching) and FFS (Fringe Field Switching) can be selected. Further, the liquid crystal panel 42 can employ any daylighting method, for example, a reflective type, a transmissive type, or a transflective type. The transflective type is a method that selectively adopts a reflective type and a transmissive type as necessary by using a part of a pixel as a reflective region and the other part as a transmissive region. In this embodiment, since the illuminating device 44 is used as a backlight, a transmissive type or a transflective type is adopted as a daylighting method. In addition, when adopting a reflection type, the illumination device 44 is not used.

  The simple matrix method is a matrix method in which each pixel does not have an active element, the intersection between the scan electrode and the data electrode corresponds to a pixel or a dot, and a drive signal is directly applied. There are TN, STN, VA, ECB, etc. as operation modes that are preferably used for this method. In the active matrix method, an active element is provided for each pixel or dot, and the active element is turned on in the writing period to write the data voltage, and the active element is turned off in other periods to hold the voltage. It is a matrix system. Active elements used in this method include a three-terminal type and a two-terminal type. An example of a three-terminal active element is a TFT (Thin Film Transistor). An example of a two-terminal active element is a TFD (Thin Film Diode).

  If an active matrix type liquid crystal panel using TFT elements is used as the liquid crystal panel 42, its electrical equivalent circuit is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, a plurality of scanning lines 58 are formed extending in the row direction X. A plurality of data lines 59 are formed extending in the column direction Y orthogonal to the scanning lines 58. The scanning line 58 and the data line 59 are insulated from each other by an insulating film. The scanning line 58 is connected to the output terminal of the scanning line driving circuit 62, and the data line 59 is connected to the output terminal of the data line driving circuit 63. A timing synchronization circuit (not shown) is normally connected to the scanning line driving circuit 62 and the data line driving circuit 63, and the operation timings of both are adjusted. The data line driving circuit 63 normally transmits image signals of R, G, B3 colors or R, G1, G2, B4 colors (details will be described later). The scanning line driving circuit 62 and the data line driving circuit 63 are provided in the driving IC 55 of FIG.

  A sub-pixel P that is a minimum unit of on / off is provided in a rectangular planar region surrounded by the scanning line 58 and the data line 59. A TFT element 60 is provided for each sub-pixel P near the intersection of the scanning line 58 and the data line 59. The scanning line 58 is connected to the gate electrode of the TFT element 60. The data line 59 is connected to the source electrode of the TFT element 60. In each sub-pixel P, an island-shaped (that is, dot-shaped) pixel electrode 61 is a light-transmitting conductive material, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide). ). Each pixel electrode 61 is connected to the drain electrode of the corresponding TFT element 60.

  Although not shown, an auxiliary capacitor can be provided for each sub-pixel P as necessary. This auxiliary capacitance is provided to prevent the capacitance associated with the pixel electrode 61 from becoming too small. The auxiliary capacitance includes, for example, a first electrode formed in the same layer as the gate electrode of the TFT element 60 and in parallel with the scanning line 58, and an insulating film (usually the gate of the TFT element). And a second electrode formed on the insulating film in each sub-pixel P and in the same layer as the drain electrode of the TFT element.

  The above configuration relating to the subpixel P is generally provided on the liquid crystal side surface of the substrate 52 on which the driving IC 55 is mounted in FIG. On the surface of the substrate 53 on the liquid crystal side, a planar common electrode facing the plurality of subpixels P is formed of ITO, IZO or the like. The common electrode is conductively connected to the driving IC 55 through a wiring pattern formed on the substrates 52 and 53 and a conductive member provided between the substrate 52 and the substrate 53.

  In the case of performing color display on the liquid crystal panel 42, a color filter is provided on one of the pair of substrates 52 and 53 (usually, a substrate facing the substrate on which the TFT element is provided). The color filter is formed by a plurality of colored films that selectively transmit light in a specific wavelength range. For example, by arranging three colors of B (blue), G (green), and R (red) corresponding to each sub-pixel on the substrate one by one in a predetermined arrangement, for example, a stripe arrangement, a delta arrangement, and a mosaic arrangement It is formed. In addition to the two colors of R and B, a color filter can be configured with four colors by adding two colors G (G1 and G2). If four colored films are used, the color reproduction area on the NTSC ratio can be expanded, and each color tone can be expressed richly.

  In FIG. 16, when an ON signal is transmitted to an appropriate scanning line 58 and a data signal is transmitted to an appropriate data line 59 within the scanning line, the corresponding TFT element 60 is turned on, and the corresponding subpixel P Writing to the liquid crystal inside is performed. When the TFT element 60 is subsequently turned off, the written state is maintained. By this series of writing operation and holding operation, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled, and the polarized light passing through the liquid crystal layer is modulated.

  In FIG. 12, the LED FPC 46 is connected to the LCD FPC 56 by a connector, soldering or the like. The LCD FPC 56 is drawn out of the metal frame 45 through the side portion of the metal frame 45 where the side wall 3 is not provided, and is connected to an external control circuit. In recent years, the liquid crystal device 41 is required to be thin. In order to respond to this, the liquid crystal panel 42 and the illumination device 44 of the present embodiment are formed very thin. For this reason, the resin frame 43 and the metal frame 45 are also formed very thin. For example, the thickness of the metal frame 45 (that is, the height of the side wall) is formed to a very thin thickness of about 1.2 mm. When the metal frame 45 is thinned, the load bearing strength and bending strength of the metal frame 45 are lowered, and there is a possibility that the function of protecting the liquid crystal panel 42 that is the housed electronic component cannot be sufficiently performed. However, in this embodiment, the bent portion 5 is formed at the tip of the side wall 3 of the metal frame 45, and the corner portion 4 is formed by drawing between the side walls 3 having the bent portion 5. A sufficient mechanical strength can be provided, and as a result, the liquid crystal panel 42 can be reliably protected.

(Embodiment of manufacturing method of electro-optical device)
Next, a manufacturing method for manufacturing the electro-optical device shown in FIG. 12 will be described.
FIG. 17 is a process diagram of the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to this embodiment. This embodiment exemplifies a case where the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal device as a manufacturing method of an electro-optical device. Note that the present invention is not limited to the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device having the configuration shown in the drawing, and the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device is not limited to the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device.

  In FIG. 17, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 41 includes a liquid crystal panel 42 as an electro-optical panel, a resin frame 43, a lighting device 44, and a metal frame 45. A metal frame forming process P11 for forming a metal frame 45 having a plurality of side walls 3 and corner portions 4 provided between the side walls 3 and an electro-optic panel housing process P12 for housing the liquid crystal panel 42 in the metal frame 45 are provided. . As shown in FIG. 3, the metal frame forming process P11 includes a bending process P1 and a subsequent side wall / corner forming process P2. The metal frame 45 is configured by a metal frame 21 shown in FIG. 2, that is, a metal frame having a notch 11 on the side wall 3 corresponding to one short side of the bottom portion 2 without the bent portion 5. Yes. Of course, the metal frame 45 can also be constituted by the metal frame 1 shown in FIG. In the metal frame 45, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1 indicate the same members, and the description of the members is omitted.

  In the electro-optical panel housing step P12, the resin frame 43 is disposed inside the metal frame 45 as shown in FIG. 13, the lighting device 44 is incorporated in the lower portion of the resin frame 43, and the liquid crystal panel 42 is disposed on the upper portion of the resin frame 43. Is incorporated. The resin frame 43 is held (fixed) at the level difference of the bent portion 5 of the metal frame 45.

  The metal frame 45 and the resin frame 43 may be insert-molded. For example, after the metal frame 45 as an insert part is disposed in the mold, resin is filled into a cavity disposed so as to surround the inner periphery of the metal frame 45, and the metal frame 45 and the resin frame 43 are integrated with each other. This is an insert molded product to be formed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the metal frame 1 shown in FIG. 1A, that is, the corner portion formed by drawing between the side walls 3 adjacent to each other, having the bent portion 5 at the tip of the side wall 3. The electro-optical device including the metal frame 1 having 4 can be accurately manufactured.

(Electronics)
FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment. A mobile phone 90 shown in FIG. 18 includes the liquid crystal device 41 according to the above-described embodiment as a small-sized display unit 92, and includes a plurality of operation buttons 94, an earpiece 96, and a mouthpiece 98. Moreover, since the metal frame which concerns on this embodiment has a bending part in the front-end | tip part of a side wall, the intensity | strength of a side wall can be strengthened. And since the side wall in which the bending part was formed is connected by the curved shape without a joint, the intensity which combined the intensity of each bending part can be made into the intensity of the whole metal frame, therefore, The overall strength can be significantly increased. For this reason, sufficient mechanical strength can be maintained even if the thickness of the metal frame is reduced. Therefore, since the electronic apparatus including the metal frame according to the present invention has high strength despite being thin, the electro-optical panel is mechanically loaded by the metal frame even when the electro-optical panel of the liquid crystal device 41 is formed thin. Can be protected from.

  The liquid crystal device 41 according to the embodiment is not limited to the mobile phone 90, but an electronic book, a personal computer, a digital still camera, a liquid crystal television, a viewfinder type or a monitor direct view type video tape recorder, a car navigation device, a pager, Electronic notebooks, calculators, word processors, workstations, videophones, POS terminals, devices with touch panels, 3D liquid crystal display devices using field sequential (FS) display, two-screen liquid crystal display devices, light valves for projection televisions, etc. It can be suitably used as an image display means, and any electronic device can perform high-speed response display with a response relaxation time shortened by transmissive display and reflective display.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims.

  For example, the metal frame can be used not only to accommodate the liquid crystal panel but also to accommodate an electro-optical panel other than the liquid crystal panel, for example, a flat display panel such as an organic EL panel or a plasma display panel. The metal frame can also be used to accommodate electronic components other than the flat display panel.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the metal frame 45 is provided on the back side of the display unit including the liquid crystal panel 42 and the illumination device 44. Instead of this, a metal frame 45 may be provided on the front side of the display unit, that is, on the image display surface side of the liquid crystal panel 42. However, in this case, an opening through which the image display area of the liquid crystal panel 42 can be visually recognized needs to be provided in the bottom surface portion of the metal frame 45. In the embodiment of FIG. 12, a metal frame 45 is provided on one surface of the display unit. However, the metal frame can be provided not only on one side of the display unit but also on both sides of the display unit. In this case, a fitting structure is provided in one metal frame and the other metal frame, and both the metal frames can be coupled by the fitting structure. In the case of a configuration in which a pair of metal frames are combined, it is necessary to provide an opening through which the image display area of the liquid crystal panel 42 can be visually recognized in the metal frame provided on the image display side of the liquid crystal panel 42.

  In each of the above embodiments, the four side walls 3 all have the bent portions 5, or the three side walls 3 have the bent portions 5, and the remaining one side wall 3 does not have the bent portions 5, and the remaining one The side wall 3 was provided with a notch 11 in the middle. Instead of this, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only at least one of the side walls 3 has a bent portion. In this case, the small notch portion 6 in FIG. Further, the height from the bottom surface (the back surface in the figure) of the bottom portion 2 of the side wall 3 not having the bent portion 5 can be made lower or higher than the height of the side wall 3 having the bent portion 5. . Moreover, the bending part 5 can be set as the structure provided in at least one part instead of the whole one side wall 3. FIG.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the notch 11 having a relatively large width is provided on one short side of the bottom 2 of the metal frame 21. Further, the depth of the notch 11 was made substantially the same as the height of the side wall 3. Alternatively, a narrower notch 11 can be provided. In this case, the side walls 3 that do not have the bent portions 5 on both sides of the notch 11 are provided between the corner portions 4. Moreover, the notch 11 shallower than the height of the side wall 3 can also be provided. In this case, the side wall 3 having a height lower than that of the side wall 3 of the other side is formed at the side portion.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the bending part 5 is made into the hemming structure which is a bending structure formed by bending until inner surfaces mutually contact, it is not restricted to this, Inner surfaces do not contact. It may be a bent structure that is bent so as to face the surface.

  FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing a metal frame according to a comparative example. FIG. 19A shows a metal frame 103 having a configuration in which a hemming structure 102 is added to the tip of the side wall 101. FIG. 19B shows a metal frame 105 having a configuration in which corner portions 104 are provided between the side walls 101 without having a hemming structure at the tip of the side walls 101. In the metal frame shown in FIG. 19A, since the reinforcement at the corners is weak, distortion occurs in the diagonal direction of the metal frame. Further, in the structure of FIG. 19B, the height of the side wall is low and the hemming structure is not adopted, so that distortion occurs in the vertical or horizontal direction of the metal frame. 19A and 19B is weaker than the above-described metal frame according to each embodiment of the present invention, and is insufficient as a metal frame used in the electro-optical device.

The perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the metal frame which concerns on this invention. The perspective view which shows other embodiment of the metal frame which concerns on this invention. Process drawing of one Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the metal frame which concerns on this invention. The top view and side view which show the manufacturing process of a metal frame. The top view and side sectional drawing which show the manufacturing process of the metal frame following FIG. The top view and side view which show the manufacturing process of the metal frame following FIG. The side view which shows an example of the metal mold | die used with the manufacturing method of the metal frame which concerns on this invention. The top view of the metal mold | die shown in FIG. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the metal mold | die shown in FIG.7 and FIG.8. The top view which shows the metal mold | die used with the manufacturing method of the metal frame which concerns on a comparative example. The top view which shows the metal mold | die used with other embodiment of the manufacturing method of the metal frame which concerns on this invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a liquid crystal device which is an embodiment of an electro-optical device according to the invention. FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 shows an electrical equivalent circuit of the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 10 is a process diagram of an embodiment of a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. The perspective view which shows the metal frame which concerns on a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

  1. 1. Gold frame 2. bottom, Side wall, 4. Corner, 5. 5. bent part, 6. notch, Steel plate, 8. 8. Side wall part 10. Corner corresponding part 10. bending allowance, Notch, 12 Internal mold, 13. External mold, 14. Movable, 14a. Middle part, 14b. Branch part, 15. An elastic force applying mechanism, 16. 17. pressing member; Space, 18. Table, 21. Gold frame, 24. Movable, 25. Internal mold, 26. Escape section, 34. Movable, 34a. Middle part, 34b. Branch, 35. Auxiliary mold, 41. Liquid crystal device (electro-optical device), 42. Liquid crystal panel (electro-optical panel), 43. Resin frame, 44. Illumination device, 45. Gold frame, 46. FPC for LED, 47. LED, 48. Light guide, 49. Light reflecting sheet, 50. Light diffusion sheet 52,53. Substrate 54a, 54b. Polarizing plate, 55. Driving IC, 56. FPC for LCD, 58. Scanning line, 59. Data line, 60. TFT element 61. Pixel electrode, 62. Scanning line driving circuit, 63. Data line driving circuit, 64. Resin frame, 65. Upper frame, 90. Mobile phone, 92. Display unit, 94. Operation buttons, 96. Earpiece, 98. Mouthpiece, P. Sub-pixel.

Claims (17)

An electro-optic panel;
A metal frame that houses the electro-optic panel,
The metal frame includes a plurality of side walls and corners provided between the side walls,
At least a tip of at least one of the side walls has a bent portion having a structure in which inner surfaces are bent opposite to each other;
An electro-optical device, wherein at least one corner adjacent to the side wall having the bent portion is formed in a curved shape without a joint. The electro-optical device according to claim 1.
An electro-optical device, wherein the corners of the curved shape of the metal frame are formed by drawing a flat metal. The electro-optical device according to claim 1 or 2,
The electro-optical device, wherein the metal frame further includes a bottom portion having a rectangular planar shape, and side walls having the bent portions are provided on four sides of the bottom portion. The electro-optical device according to claim 3.
The electro-optical device, wherein the metal frame is provided with the corner portions at each of four positions between side walls having the bent portions provided on four sides. The electro-optical device according to claim 1 or 2,
The metal frame further includes a bottom part having a rectangular planar shape, the plurality of side walls are provided on four sides of the bottom part, and at least three of the four sides have a bent part, The side wall of at least one side of the four sides has a notch in the middle portion, and the corner portion is provided at each of four positions between the side walls formed on the four sides. apparatus. The electro-optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The electro-optical device, wherein the metal frame has a notch at a front end of a side wall between the bent portion and the corner portion.   The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein inner surfaces of the bent portions are in contact with each other. A plurality of side walls;
A corner provided between the side walls,
At least a tip of at least one of the side walls has a bent portion having a structure in which inner surfaces are bent opposite to each other,
The metal frame for an electro-optical device, wherein at least one of the corner portions is formed in a curved shape without a joint. A metal frame forming step of forming a metal frame having a plurality of side walls and corner portions provided between the side walls;
An electro-optic panel housing step of housing the electro-optic panel in the metal frame,
The metal frame forming step includes
A bending process step of forming a bent portion having a structure in which the inner surfaces of the flat plate are bent opposite to each other at the tip of at least a part of the at least one side wall;
Forming the plurality of side wall regions by bending so that the bent region is inward, and forming the corners by drawing, and sidewall and corner forming steps;
The side wall / corner portion forming step includes:
It is performed using an internal mold arranged in an area that becomes the inside of the flat metal frame and an external mold arranged in an area that becomes the outside of the metal frame,
The internal mold has a movable mold arranged corresponding to the area to be the corner,
The movable mold is formed by an intermediate part having a shape forming the corner part and a pair of branch parts extending from the intermediate part in a direction perpendicular to each other,
The movable mold is movable in both the expanding direction and the narrowing direction,
The bending process for forming the side walls and the drawing process for forming the corners are performed by the inner mold and the outer mold in a state where the movable mold is expanded inside the mold frame. Done,
The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the step of extracting the internal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in a state where the movable mold is recessed inside the metal frame. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 9.
Between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other, a space is provided that allows the pair of movable molds to move in the direction of squeezing,
The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the space is provided at a position offset to any one of the corners rather than a central part of the side wall of the metal frame. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 9.
Between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other, a space is provided that allows the pair of movable molds to move in the direction of squeezing,
The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the space is provided corresponding to a portion of the side wall of the metal frame having a large dimensional accuracy tolerance. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
The movable mold is biased in the expanding direction or the squeezing direction by an elastic force, and moves in the squeezing direction or the expanding direction against the elastic force when pressed by a pressing member. A method of manufacturing an electro-optical device. A bending step of forming a bent portion having a structure in which a flat plate has a plurality of side walls and the inner surfaces are bent opposite to each other at least at one end of the at least one side wall;
The plurality of side wall regions are formed by bending so that the bent region is inward, and the corner region provided between the plurality of side wall regions is formed by drawing. A side wall / corner portion forming step,
The side wall / corner portion forming step includes:
It is performed using an internal mold disposed in an area that becomes the inside of the flat metal frame and an external mold disposed in an area that becomes the outside of the metal frame,
The internal mold has a movable mold arranged corresponding to the area to be the corner,
The movable mold is formed by an intermediate portion having a shape forming the corner portion and a pair of branch portions extending from the intermediate portion in a direction perpendicular to each other,
The movable mold is movable in both an expanding direction and a narrowing direction,
The bending process for forming the side wall and the drawing process for forming the corner part cooperate with the inner mold and the outer mold in a state where the movable mold is expanded inside the mold frame. Done,
The method of producing a metal frame for an electro-optical device, wherein the step of extracting the internal metal mold to the outside of the metal frame is performed in a state where the movable mold is recessed inside the metal frame. The method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to claim 13,
Between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other, a space is provided that allows the pair of movable molds to move in the direction of squeezing,
The method of manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device, wherein the space is provided at a position offset to any one of the corners rather than the central part of the side wall of the metal frame. The method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to claim 13,
Between the pair of movable mold branches adjacent to each other, a space is provided that allows the pair of movable molds to move in the direction of squeezing,
The method of manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device, wherein the space is provided corresponding to a portion of the side wall of the metal frame having a large dimensional accuracy tolerance. The method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
The movable mold is biased in the expanding direction or the squeezing direction by an elastic force, and moves in the squeezing direction or the expanding direction against the elastic force when pressed by a pressing member. A method for manufacturing a metal frame for an electro-optical device.   An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 1.

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