JP2009109806A - Electronic paper display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic paper display apparatus wherein a flexible display sheet is not bent but held flat for visual observation even when a hard case housing a display drive element is held by one hand. <P>SOLUTION: A display sheet is exposed on one side of the hard case through a cutout part cut from the front edge to the base edge on at least one side in the longitudinal direction of the hard case. When the display sheet exposed in the cutout part is bent to the front face side by fingers holding the hard case, the whole of the flexible display sheet is curved to the front face side, and the flexible display sheet is supported in a substantially flat condition for visual observation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic paper display using a flexible display sheet as a paper-like display medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic paper display having a hard case fixed to the base end side of the display sheet and visually observing the display on the display sheet. It relates to a paper display.

  As a display medium for displaying display data consisting of images and text, a power source is used by using a non-volatile liquid crystal instead of paper, which has been used for a long time, or a display device provided in an information terminal device. There has been proposed an electronic paper that maintains display contents even if it is cut off. This electronic paper displays display data on a flexible display sheet, and does not use a glass substrate like a display device, so it is lightweight and is easy to carry without being damaged. Since it bends and is easy to browse, it has attracted attention as a portable display medium.

  The display sheet is displayed by inputting display data to be displayed from an external electronic device such as a personal computer or by reading from a storage element in which a plurality of display data is stored in advance and connecting to the display sheet (display driver). Thus, a large number of pixels dispersed and arranged on the display sheet are individually controlled and displayed.

  Since this display driving element is generally composed of a semiconductor chip, it is usually mounted on a printed wiring board made of a rigid substrate different from a flexible display sheet, and the display driving element itself is protected from the outside. Therefore, in the conventional electronic paper display device 100, as shown in FIG. 7, the display drive element 103 is accommodated in a hard case 102 fixed to the base end side of the flexible display sheet 101. (Patent Document 1).

  In this way, the electronic paper display device 100 in which the hard case 102 is attached to one side of the flexible display sheet 101 has a binder connected to the hard case with a connector and visually observes the display on the display sheet 101. In electronic paper that does not use a binder, the display drive element, storage element, and display control element are housed in a hard case with an operation switch that switches the display of the electronic paper. There is also known an electronic paper display device for visually observing the display and switching the display (Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-312250 A (Items 0033 to 0036, FIG. 3) JP 2006-172103 A (Items 0070 to 0074, FIG. 14)

  In an electronic paper display that also serves as a gripping part when viewing the display on the display sheet, the display sheet can be viewed while holding the hard case with one hand, but the display sheet is flexible. Therefore, when tilted in the horizontal direction, the display sheet is bent by its own weight, and the display sheet cannot be maintained in a flat state. Therefore, there is an inconvenience of viewing the display while supporting the display sheet with the other hand.

  In particular, when changing the display while checking the display sheet display while holding the hard case, or when performing a rewrite operation, both hands are blocked to support the display sheet flatly, and these switches are operated by operating the operation switch. It was extremely difficult to perform the operation.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described conventional problems, and the flexible display sheet does not bend and is flat even if it has a hard case that accommodates the display drive element with one hand. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic paper display device that can visually check the display.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic paper display according to claim 1 is an electronic paper having a flexible rectangular display sheet, and a hard case that houses a display drive element that drives and controls the display sheet of the electronic paper. The hard case is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a width of 2 cm or more that can be sandwiched between fingers, and the hard case in the longitudinal direction is one side of the base end side of the display sheet. It is fixed to the base end side of the display sheet so as to cover the whole, and at least one side in the longitudinal direction of the hard case is formed on the one side of the hard case by a notch portion cut out from the front end to the base end. The display sheet is exposed.

  Since the rectangular parallelepiped hard case has a width in the short side direction of 2 cm or more, the thumb can be pressed against the surface side and grasped with one hand. Press the surface of the hard case with your thumb, press your other finger against the back side of the display sheet exposed by the notch in the hard case, and bend the display sheet exposed at the notch to the surface. The entire display sheet is curved to the surface side with the distal direction from the proximal end as a curved axis. As a result, even if the display sheet is supported horizontally, the display sheet can be visually observed in a substantially flat state without being bent to the back side by its own weight.

  Since the base end of the flexible display sheet is covered with the hard case, it does not protrude from both sides in the longitudinal direction of the hard case and is not damaged by receiving external force.

  The electronic paper display according to claim 2 is characterized in that the thickness of the display sheet is 1 mm or less and the exposed width of the display sheet exposed to one side of the hard case is 5 mm or more.

  A display sheet having a thickness of 1 mm or less and an exposed width of 5 mm or more can be easily folded to the front surface side up to the front end of the display sheet by folding the display sheet with a finger at a small radius of curvature.

  The electronic paper display device according to claim 3, wherein a hard case is formed of a case body and a lid body whose base ends are hinge-coupled, and a connector contact electrically connected to the display drive element is provided on the surface of the case body facing the lid body. The display sheet is held between the base body and the case, the electrode drawn from the display sheet to the base end side is brought into contact with the connector contact, and the display sheet is detachable from the hard case. It is characterized by positioning and fixing.

  The display drive element and the display sheet are electrically connected when the hard case is fixed to the display sheet by sandwiching one side of the base end side of the display sheet between the case body and the lid. Since the hard case is detachable from the display sheet, when the display sheet is not rewritten or the display is not switched and the display drive element is not required, the hard case can be removed and only the electronic paper can be carried.

  According to the invention of claim 1, it is possible to support the display sheet of electronic paper with one hand with a hard case that accommodates the display drive element, without providing a complicated structure or another auxiliary means, With one hand, the flexible display sheet can be supported in a substantially flat state in any posture.

  Further, while viewing the display sheet that is held flat with a hard case with one hand, the display sheet can be switched and the display can be rewritten with the other hand.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to bend the tip of the display sheet and support it almost flat without applying a large force with a finger having a hard case.

  According to the invention of claim 3, when the display sheet is not rewritten or the display is not switched, only the electronic paper can be carried and the display of the display sheet can be easily seen at an arbitrary place.

  Hereinafter, an electronic paper display 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the electronic paper display 1, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic paper display 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the electronic paper display 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic paper 2 is composed of a rectangular flexible display sheet 2A. There are two types of electronic paper: a self-writing type that writes a predetermined display on the display sheet based on display data, and a transfer writing type that holds the display written by projection transfer or thermal transfer on the display sheet. Although divided, the electronic paper 2 according to the present embodiment uses a cholesteric liquid crystal memory type liquid crystal display element that maintains the direction of the spiral axis of the liquid crystal molecules semi-permanently even when the power is turned off. It is a self-writing type that draws a predetermined display by driving and controlling a liquid crystal display element to be arranged with a liquid crystal driver.

  Each liquid crystal display element is provided with a transparent electrode that changes the direction of liquid crystal molecules by applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element. Each of these transparent electrodes is a transparent conductive pattern wired in a matrix on a synthetic resin sheet. Accordingly, the display sheet 2A is pulled out to the connector electrode portion 3 on the back surface (upper left side in FIG. 2).

By using bright and memory cholesteric liquid crystal for the liquid crystal display element, it becomes possible to clearly see the display without using the polarizing plate, reflector, filter, backlight, etc. that were necessary for the liquid crystal display, In addition, since a transparent plastic sheet is used instead of the protective glass substrate, in this embodiment, the display sheet 2 is mainly made of a plastic having a light weight and a Young's modulus of about 0.03 * 10 ⁻⁴ Kg / mm ^2. As a material, it is a sheet of A4 size that is thin and flexible like paper with a thickness of 0.8 mm.

  The display sheet 2 according to the present invention is formed into a plate-like or film-like shape from a material having flexibility and resilience. Specifically, as the material having flexibility, the display sheet 2 has a length of 20 mm with one end fixed. It is preferable that the material be elastically deformed by at least 1 mm when a force of 1 N is applied to the other end of the material. In addition, as a material having resilience, irreversible fractures such as creases and cracks may occur even if the work is held for 1 second or more in a state of being rounded to a diameter of 50 mm and then restored by releasing the retained state three or more times. It is preferable that the material is a material having a maximum deformation of less than 2 mm in a state where it does not occur and is left on a horizontal surface after restoration. As materials having the above flexibility and resilience, for example, paper, rubber (elastomers), gelled products, plastics, woven fabrics, vinyls, spring-like metals, etc. are used as main materials for maintaining the structure. Can do.

  A rectangular parallelepiped hard case 4 that houses a liquid crystal driver that drives and controls each of the liquid crystal display elements is fixed to the base end side of the display sheet 2A. The longitudinal width of the rectangular parallelepiped hard case 4 is 210 mm, which is equal to the width in the short direction of the display sheet 2, and the width in the short direction (the width between the base end 4 a and the tip 4 b) can be pressed with the thumb. It is 30 mm.

  Both sides in the longitudinal direction of the hard case 4 are cut out into symmetrical shapes of an L shape and an inverted L shape from the distal end 4b toward the base end 4a, and cutout portions 6 and 6 are formed. The length d1 from the base end 4a of the hard case 4 to the notch 6 is set to such a length that a finger of a hand grasping the base end 4a of the hard case 4 can be inserted into the notch 6 In the embodiment, it is 10 mm. Further, the width d2 of the cutout portion 6 along the longitudinal direction of the hard case 4 is set to a width of 5 mm or more that allows the display sheet 2 to be sufficiently bent by a finger inserted into the cutout portion 6, and is 10 mm here. It is said.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the hard case 4 includes a case body 41 and a lid body 42 having the same contour shape divided into two in the horizontal direction, and both of them can freely rotate around the hinge coupling portion 5 on the base end side. It is connected to. A plurality of input switches 8 and 8 for an operator to switch the display of the electronic paper 2 and perform a rewriting operation are attached to the lid 42 (see FIG. 1). The operation signals of the input switches 8 and 8 are as follows. The data is output to a microprocessor, which will be described later, by wiring not shown.

  The case main body 41 accommodates a liquid crystal driver serving as a display driving element of the display sheet 2 in a state of being mounted on a rigid printed wiring board (not shown). In addition to this liquid crystal driver, the printed wiring board has a memory element that stores a plurality of display data in a readable and writable manner, an interface circuit element that inputs and outputs display data to and from an external device such as a personal computer, and other electronic circuit elements. A microprocessor for accessing and controlling and inputting an operation signal of the input switch 8 is mounted.

  The electrical connector 7 is exposed and attached to the center of the surface of the case body 41, and a plurality of output terminals of the liquid crystal driver are connected to the contacts of the electrical connector 7. Positioning bosses 10, 10 that are fitted into positioning holes 9, 9 formed on the base end side of the display sheet 2 </ b> A project from both sides in the longitudinal direction where the electrical connector 7 is exposed. When the positioning bosses 10 and 10 are inserted into the positioning holes 9 and 9 of the display sheet 2A of the electronic paper 2 and the display sheet 2A is disposed on the surface of the case body 41, the connector electrode portion 3 exposed on the back surface corresponds. The contacts and the connector electrode portions 3 are elastically contacted with each other by being positioned between the contacts of the electrical connector 7 to be connected to each other and sandwiched between the lid 42 rotated on the case body 41. And make electrical connections.

  Between the case body 41 and the lid body 42, the lid body 42 and the case body 41 are engaged with each other in a state where the contact and the connector electrode portion 3 are sandwiched between the lid body 42 and the case body 41. An engaging portion that is not formed is formed. As shown in FIG. 1, in the state where the lid 42 and the case main body 41 are engaged, the rigid case 4 integrated with the base end side of the display sheet 2A is fixed, and one side of the base end side of the display sheet 2A is hard. Covered by the case 4, the base end sides of both sides along the longitudinal direction are exposed to the notches 6, 6 on both sides of the hard case 4. Therefore, one side of the base end side of the display sheet 2A does not protrude from the hard case 4, and even if the electronic paper display device 1 is accommodated in a narrow space such as a bag, the side of the base end side is turned over and damaged. Absent.

  The electronic paper display 1 configured in this way is in a state in which the hard case 4 is fixed to the display sheet 2A when rewriting the display of the electronic paper 2 or switching the display. As shown in FIG. 3, the operator grasps the hard case 4 from the base end 4 a side, places the thumb on the surface of the hard case 4, and inserts the index finger into the notch 6 from the back side of the hard case 4. Let The display sheet 2A exposed to the notch 6 is folded upward (front side) by the index finger inserted into the notch 6, and the entire display sheet 2A extends from the portion bent at the notch 6 to the tip. Curve upward continuously. As a result, the section modulus for cutting the display sheet 2A in the short direction is greatly increased, and even if tilted in the horizontal direction so that the display of the flexible display sheet 2A is easy to see, it is not curved downward by its own weight, Supported in a substantially flat state.

  The thumb that holds the hard case 4 is placed on the surface of the hard case 4 on which the input switches 8 and 8 are arranged. Therefore, while viewing the display on the display sheet 2A, the input switch 8 is operated with the thumb and displayed with one hand. Can be switched or rewritten.

  In this hard case 4, a notch 6 having a symmetrical shape is formed on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction, and the display sheet 2A is faced. Therefore, the hard case 4 is gripped with the right hand, and it is made almost flat by the same method. It is also possible to operate the input switch 8 while viewing the supported display sheet 2A. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 with the same or corresponding components as those in the above-described embodiment, a fingertip that grips the hard case 4 from one side in the longitudinal direction with the base end 4a of the hard case 4 as the operator side. Thus, the base end side of the vertically oriented display sheet 2A can be bent and supported flat. The display sheet 2A that is supported in the vertical direction as described above can be flatly supported by being bent if the distance from the tip to the hard case 4 is 4 cm or more and 60 cm or less.

  When there is no need to switch the display on the display sheet 2A or perform a rewrite operation, the case body 41 and the lid 42 are disengaged, and the hard case 4 is removed from the display sheet 2A. Since the display sheet 2A displays the rewritten display even when the connection with the liquid crystal driver is cut off, the electronic paper 2 made up of only the display sheet 2A can be carried and viewed anywhere.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the notch portions 6 are provided on both sides of the hard case 4. However, in the electronic paper display device in which the display sheet 2 </ b> A is viewed from only one direction, one side that can be inserted with a finger having the hard case. The notch may be formed only on the surface. Further, the shape of the notch is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape as in the above-described embodiment, but may be a position where the base side of the display sheet 2A is covered with a hard case and can be inserted with a finger having the hard case 4. For example, it can be set as the notch parts 15 and 16 of various shapes like FIG. 5, FIG. In these drawings, the same or corresponding components as those in the above-described embodiment are given the same numbers.

  The notch 15 in FIG. 5 is formed so that the end faces 4c on both sides of the hard case 4 are tapered from the base end 4a toward the tip end 4b, so that the display sheet 2A is formed on the end face 4c with a finger. By bending along, the display sheet 2A can be naturally curved to the front end side along the extended line (one-dot chain line) of the end face 4c.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display sheet 2A of the electronic paper 2 is sandwiched and fixed to the hard case 4, but when the electronic paper 2 is not used, the display sheet is rolled into the hard case. It may be stored in.

  Further, as a display sheet of electronic paper, a storage type liquid crystal display element is used as a display medium as described above, and a display medium in which writing and erasing are performed by thermal control using, for example, a leuco dye and a developer. Also good.

  The present invention is suitable for an electronic paper display which has a hard case fixed to the base end of a flexible display sheet and visually observes the display on the display sheet.

1 is a perspective view of an electronic paper display device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic paper display device 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage state of an electronic paper display device 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the use condition of the electronic paper display which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the electronic paper display which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the electronic paper display which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. (A) of the conventional electronic paper display apparatus 100 is a top view, (b) is a front view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic paper indicator 2 Electronic paper 2A Display sheet 3 Electrode (connector electrode part)
4 Hard case 6 Notch 41 Case body 42 Lid

Claims (3)

An electronic paper having a flexible rectangular display sheet;
An electronic paper display device comprising a hard case that houses a display drive element that drives and controls a display sheet of electronic paper,
The base of the display sheet is formed so that the hard case is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a width of 2 cm or more that can be sandwiched between fingers and the hard case in the longitudinal direction covers the entire one side of the base end side of the display sheet. Fixed to the end,
An electronic paper display characterized in that a display sheet is exposed on the one side of the hard case by a notch part cut out from the front end to the base end on at least one side in the longitudinal direction of the hard case. 2. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, wherein the display sheet has a thickness of 1 mm or less and an exposed width of the display sheet exposed to the one side of the hard case is 5 mm or more. A hard case is formed with a case body and a lid body whose base ends are hinged,
The connector contact that is electrically connected to the display drive element is exposed on the surface of the case body facing the lid,
Hold one side of the display sheet at the base end between the case body and the case, and bring the electrode pulled out from the display sheet toward the base end into contact with the connector contact, and detachably position and fix the display sheet to the hard case. The electronic paper display according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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