JP2009069278A - Electronic equipment and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently secure the rigidity of a casing around a liquid crystal display element with a simple and inexpensive constitution and to prevent the liquid crystal element from being damaged in electronic equipment having the liquid crystal display element. <P>SOLUTION: A casing body part 11a and a liquid crystal protection part 11b are integrally formed by a transparent resin material to obtain a first casing 11. A masking sticker 20 is stuck to the liquid crystal protection part 11b and a paint 21 having a light shielding property is sprayed. Then, the masking sticker 20 is peeled off from the first casing 11 to complete the first casing 11. Since the first casing 11 is structured so that the periphery of the liquid crystal display element is closed, the rigidity of the first casing 11 is high, and since external force is not directly applied to the liquid crystal display element, the liquid crystal display element can be prevented from being damaged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, in particular, an electronic device including a liquid crystal display unit for displaying various kinds of information, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Conventionally, various techniques using a transparent resin material have been proposed for electronic devices. Patent Document 1 discloses a digital camera in which an imaging lens, a front panel, and the like are formed of a transparent resin material, and a range excluding an optical system such as the imaging lens is covered with a light-shielding film. Patent Document 2 discloses a digital camera in which an inner cabinet is formed of a transparent resin. Patent Document 3 discloses a surface light emitting unit that enables uniform light emission over a wide area with a transparent cover.
JP-A-7-209714 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-21975 JP-A-10-282911

  Electronic devices such as cameras and mobile phones are provided with an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying various types of information. The housing of the electronic device has a window corresponding to the outer edge of the liquid crystal display element so that information displayed on the liquid crystal display element can be visually recognized from the outside. In conventional electronic devices, a transparent cover member for protecting the liquid crystal display element is disposed outside the liquid crystal display element.

  In the conventional configuration described above, there is a problem that it is necessary to incorporate a cover member as a separate component in the casing of the electronic device, resulting in an increase in the number of components and an increase in cost. In view of this, a method for reducing the cost by removing the cover member and directly exposing the liquid crystal display element has been studied. However, in such a method, since the above-described window is opened in the casing around the liquid crystal display element, it is difficult to ensure sufficient rigidity of the casing, and thus a large external force is directly applied to the liquid crystal display element. As a result, the liquid crystal display element may be damaged. In particular, in recent electronic devices, liquid crystal display elements tend to increase in size and accordingly the opening area of windows increases, making it difficult to ensure sufficient rigidity of the casing.

  However, even if the techniques disclosed in any of the above-mentioned patent documents are applied, the external force applied to the liquid crystal display element cannot be reduced, and thus the liquid crystal display element cannot be prevented from being damaged.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. With a simple and inexpensive configuration, the rigidity of the casing around the liquid crystal display element can be sufficiently secured, and the liquid crystal display element can be prevented from being damaged. An object is to provide electronic equipment.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1
In an electronic device including a liquid crystal display element for displaying information and a casing covering the periphery of the electronic component,
The casing is made of a transparent resin material, and includes a casing main body portion that covers an outside of an electronic component other than the liquid crystal display element, and a liquid crystal protection portion that covers an outer side of the liquid crystal display element. The part and the liquid crystal protection part are integrally formed.

The invention of claim 2 is the electronic device according to claim 1,
The casing main body is painted with a light-shielding paint, and the liquid crystal protective part is not painted.

Invention of Claim 3 is a manufacturing method of the electronic device of Claim 2, Comprising:
A case forming step of injecting a transparent resin material into a mold to integrally form the case main body and the liquid crystal protection unit;
A masking step of forming a masking material on the surface of the liquid crystal protection part of the case formed by the case formation step,
A casing coating step of coating the casing, in which a masking material is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal protection part, with a masking process, using a paint having a light shielding property,
And a masking removal step of removing the masking material from the case coated by the case painting step.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the liquid crystal protection part covering the outside of the liquid crystal display element is formed integrally with the housing body by the transparent resin material, the information displayed on the liquid crystal display element is externally transmitted. There is no need to provide a window for viewing in the housing. As a result, the casing around the liquid crystal display element can be closed, the casing can be sufficiently rigid, and the liquid crystal display element can be prevented from being damaged. In addition, since it is not necessary to incorporate the liquid crystal protection unit as a separate part, the configuration of the device can be simplified, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the casing body that covers the outside of the electronic component other than the liquid crystal display element is coated with the light-shielding paint, a good appearance equivalent to that of a normal electronic device can be obtained. Can do. Moreover, since the liquid crystal protective part is not painted, the information displayed on the liquid crystal display element can be visually recognized from the outside as in the case of a normal electronic device.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the casing body and the liquid crystal protective part are integrally formed in the casing forming process, the masking material is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal protecting part in the masking process, and the casing is coated in the casing coating process. The electronic device according to claim 2 can be easily manufactured by painting the surface of the body with a light-shielding paint and removing the masking material from the housing in the masking removal step. Cost can be reduced.

  An electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show the configuration of an electronic apparatus including a liquid crystal display element such as a portable navigation device or a camera. The electronic device 1 includes an electronic component including a liquid crystal display element (liquid crystal display element) 2 that displays various information such as images and characters, a housing 5 that covers the periphery of the electronic component, and the like. The electronic component is mounted on the printed circuit board 3. On the printed circuit board 3, for example, a switch 4 for a user to input various commands and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the entire device including the liquid crystal display element 2 in accordance with the operation of the switch 4 are mounted. A button 6 operated by the user is provided outside the switch 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 5 is configured by a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 so as to be divided into two in the front-rear direction. The first housing 11 has a housing body 11a, a liquid crystal protection portion 11b, and a button opening 11c for allowing the button 6 to pass therethrough, and is integrally formed of a transparent resin material. The housing body 11a covers electronic parts other than the liquid crystal display element 2, that is, the upper side of the entire apparatus in FIG. The liquid crystal protection unit 11 b covers the outside of the liquid crystal display element 2.

  Of the first housing 11, the housing body 11 a excluding the liquid crystal protection portion 11 b is painted with a light-shielding paint. This coating is applied from the outside or the inside of the first housing 11. On the other hand, the liquid crystal protection unit 11b remains transparent without being painted so that various types of information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 2 can be visually recognized from the outside of the electronic device 1. Note that the surface of the second housing 12 is coated in the same manner as the first housing 11.

  3 and 4 show the manufacturing process of the first housing 11. First, a transparent resin material is injected into a mold, and as shown in FIG. 3A, a first housing 11 having a housing body 11a and a liquid crystal protection portion 11b is integrally formed ( Case formation process). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3B, the masking seal 20 is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal protection part 11b in the first housing 11 (masking step). The attachment position of the masking seal 20 is a position corresponding to the liquid crystal display element 2 in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, a coating material 22 having a light-shielding property is sprayed to the outside of the first housing 11 to which the masking seal 20 is attached (a housing painting process). Since the first housing 11 is formed of a transparent resin material, this coating may be performed from the inside of the first housing 11. Finally, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the masking seal 20 is peeled off from the painted first casing 11 (masking removal step), the first casing 11 shown in FIG. 2 is completed. The liquid crystal protection unit 11b can be improved in appearance quality around the liquid crystal display element 2 by performing silk printing or the like on the inner surface side as necessary.

  As described above, according to the electronic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the liquid crystal protection part 11b that covers the outside of the liquid crystal display element 2 is formed integrally with the housing body 11a by the transparent resin material. There is no need to provide the corresponding first housing 11 with a window for visually recognizing information displayed on the display element 2 from the outside. As a result, the first casing 11 around the liquid crystal display element 2 can be closed, and the first casing 11 can be sufficiently rigid to prevent damage to the liquid crystal display element 2. become able to. In addition, since it is not necessary to incorporate the liquid crystal protection unit 11b as a separate part, the configuration of the device can be simplified, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

  Moreover, since the housing body 11a that covers the outside of the electronic components other than the liquid crystal display element 2 is coated with the light-shielding paint 21, a good appearance equivalent to that of a normal electronic device can be obtained. Moreover, since the liquid crystal protection part 11b is not painted, the information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 2 can be visually recognized from the outside similarly to a normal electronic device.

  Further, the casing body 11a and the liquid crystal protective part 11b are integrally formed in the casing forming process, the masking seal 20 is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal protecting part 11b in the masking process, and the first casing is formed in the casing coating process. Since the surface of the body 11 is coated with a light-shielding paint 21 and the masking seal 20 is removed from the casing in the masking removal step, the first casing 11 can be easily manufactured. The manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and at least if the liquid crystal protection part 11b covering the outside of the liquid crystal display element 2 is integrally formed with the housing body 11a by a transparent resin material. Good. The present invention is not limited to a portable navigation device or a camera, but is also widely applied to electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a voice recorder having an optical display unit such as a liquid crystal display element 2 and an LED (light emitting diode). Can be applied.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the same electronic device of the state which opened the 1st housing | casing. The perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of a 1st housing | casing. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a manufacturing process of the first housing following FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic equipment 2 Liquid crystal display element (liquid crystal display element)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 1st housing | casing 11a Housing | casing main-body part 11b Liquid crystal protection part 20 Masking sticker (masking material)
21 Paint

Claims (3)

In an electronic device including a liquid crystal display element for displaying information and a casing covering the periphery of the electronic component,
The casing is made of a transparent resin material, and includes a casing main body portion that covers an outside of an electronic component other than the liquid crystal display element, and a liquid crystal protection portion that covers an outer side of the liquid crystal display element. The electronic device is characterized in that the liquid crystal protection unit and the liquid crystal protection unit are integrally formed.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing main body is coated with a light-shielding paint, and the liquid crystal protection unit is not painted. A case forming step of injecting a transparent resin material into a mold to integrally form the case main body and the liquid crystal protection unit;
A masking step of forming a masking material on the surface of the liquid crystal protection part of the case formed by the case formation step,
A casing coating step of coating the casing, in which a masking material is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal protection part, with a masking process, using a paint having a light shielding property,
The method of manufacturing an electronic device according to claim 2, wherein a masking removal step of removing the masking material from the case coated by the case painting step is performed.

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