JPH0975583A - Display equipment of laundry machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform clear display regardless of ambient brightness or darkness even in use of a liquid crystal panel to display by reflecting incident light from outside. SOLUTION: To the surface of an NCAP liquid crystal panel, a light guiding material 12 is attached. The whole area of the NCAP liquid crystal panel is illuminated by the light from a light emitting diode 21 through the light guiding material 12. While the NCAP liquid crystal panel is turned on for display, since light from the light guiding material 12 goes outside together with incident light from outside by the reflection of the reflection board 11, bright display can be realized regardless of ambient brightness or darkness.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device for a laundry machine, which displays information related to driving by a liquid crystal panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a washing machine for combined use of dehydration, a washing operation is performed by sequentially performing steps of washing, rinsing, and dehydration, and a washing machine of a plurality of washing courses including a standard washing course is used. The configuration is such that a desired one can be selected from the above and automatically executed.

In such a washing machine, a display device for displaying the types of a plurality of washing courses and the process currently in progress is provided on an operation panel arranged on the main body of the washing machine. There is. In this case, the display device is configured by combining a light emitting diode or a fluorescent display tube.
Further, on the operation panel, an operation switch for selecting a washing course and a washing water level is arranged at a position close to the display device.

[0004]

When the above-described display device using the light emitting diode or the fluorescent display tube is provided, the size of the display device itself in the thickness direction becomes relatively large. Therefore, a large installation space for the display device is required on the operation panel.

In order to solve such a problem, recently,
It is considered that the display device is configured, for example, as an NCAP (nematic curvilinear aligned phase) liquid crystal panel provided with a reflection plate on the back surface. The NCAP liquid crystal functions to suppress the passage of light by reducing at least one of scattering and absorption of incident light from the outside when no voltage is applied. It has the property of exhibiting a light transmission state by reducing the amount of light scattering or absorption. Therefore, when the voltage is applied to the NCAP liquid crystal, the light reflected by the reflector can be visually observed from the outside, and the display function can be fulfilled.

However, the NCAP liquid crystal panel exhibits a display function by reflecting the external light incident on the NCAP liquid crystal panel as described above by the reflecting plate. Therefore, when the surroundings are dark, the NCAP liquid crystal panel reflects by the reflecting plate. Since the amount of light decreases, it looks like the non-display state, and it is expected that the function of the display device will be impaired. Such a problem is not limited to a display device using an NCAP liquid crystal panel, and is a problem that generally occurs when a liquid crystal panel configured to display by reflecting incident light from the outside is used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to construct a display device using a liquid crystal panel configured to display by reflecting incident light from the outside. It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine that can perform a clear display regardless of the surrounding light and dark.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a display device of a laundry machine for displaying a display related to driving. A liquid crystal panel that makes the display section in a bright state by being reflected by the reflection section, a light-transmitting light guide member that is stacked on the front surface side of the liquid crystal panel, and light from the side surface inside the light guide member. The light-guiding member is configured to be incident on the light-guiding member, and the light-guiding member reflects the light entering the inside from the light-emitting element at a boundary surface with the outside on the front side and a boundary surface with the outside on the back side to advance to the entire light-guiding member. At the same time, it is characterized in that the liquid crystal panel is made to enter from the boundary surface with the outside of the back side.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a washing machine combined with dehydration will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4 showing the appearance of the washing machine for combined use of dehydration, a plastic top cover 2 is attached to the upper part of an outer box 1 constituting the main body of the washing machine, and a laundry loading / unloading opening (not shown) is opened / closed on the top cover 2. A foldable lid 3 is provided so as to be openable and closable, and a plastic operation panel 4 is also attached to the front side thereof.

A rectangular display device 5 is arranged on the operation panel 4 so as to be substantially flush with the operation panel 4, and an "ON" for turning on the power is provided at a position adjacent to the display device 5. A switch 6, a power-off “off” switch 7 and a light emitting diode 8 functioning as a pilot lamp are arranged in a state of being substantially flush with the operation panel 4. Further, the operation panel 4 has a large number of membrane switches 9 as switch means constituting a key switch group.
(See FIG. 3) is provided so as to be located on the front surface side of the display device 5.

The display device 5 is a liquid crystal such as NCAP.
(Nematic curvilinear aligned phase) The liquid crystal is formed into a flat plate shape having flexibility and has a sectional structure as schematically shown in FIG. That is,
In FIG. 3, an NCAP liquid crystal display device 5 has a configuration in which a flexible NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 and a reflector 11 as a flexible reflecting portion arranged on the back surface of the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 are arranged. Has become.

A light guide member 12 made of a light-transmissive, for example, transparent plastic plate is provided directly on the front surface side of the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10, in this embodiment, and further on the front surface side of the light guide member 12. A film-like transparent elastic body 13, the membrane switch 9, an ultraviolet barrier film 14, and an overlay 15 made of a transparent film are laminated in the same order. The elastic body 13 is for reducing the operational feeling when the membrane switch switch 9 is pressed through the overlay 15 and the ultraviolet barrier film 14.

Here, the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 is
The NCAP liquid crystal material 18 is sandwiched between the transparent individual electrode film 16 having a plurality of individual electrodes and the transparent common electrode film 17 having a common electrode. The NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 configured as described above has the NC in the steady state in which the voltage is not applied between the common electrode and the individual electrode.
The liquid crystal cell group in the AP liquid crystal material 18 is in a relatively free state, whereby the overlay 15,
A scattering phenomenon of external light incident through the ultraviolet barrier film 14, the membrane switch switch 9, the elastic body 13, and the light guide member 12 (absorption phenomenon of incident light when combined with an appropriate material) is generated to prevent passage of light. As a result, the amount of light reflected by the reflection plate 11 decreases and the portion of the reflection plate 11 becomes dim.

On the other hand, when a voltage is applied between both electrodes, the liquid crystal cell group is in an aligned state, so that the amount of light scattering (or the amount of absorption) as described above is reduced and the light is transmitted. In this state, the amount of light reflected by the reflection plate 11 increases and the voltage application portion becomes brighter.

Therefore, in the NCAP liquid crystal display device 5, the color of the portion of the reflection plate 11 corresponding to the plurality of individual electrodes formed on the transparent individual electrode film 16 is appropriately set and, for example, the color corresponding to the portion is set. If the light shielding layer 15a is formed by leaving the transparent portion of the desired shape in the overlay 15 and coloring it in black, for example, the shape or characters of the desired shape bordered by the light shielding layer 15a can be colored in any desired color. It becomes possible to function as a display part. Further, by adopting a configuration in which a voltage is individually applied to the plurality of individual electrodes formed on the transparent individual electrode film 16, it is possible to provide a plurality of types of display portions and to perform a display operation by each display portion selectively. You will get it.

Specifically, the NCAP liquid crystal display device 5 according to the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of display units 19 for performing a plurality of types of display operations related to washing operation. The selected washing course is displayed, and among the steps from the washing step to the dehydration step, the step currently being executed is displayed.

In each display unit 19, the color set on the reflection plate 11 located on the back side appears bright on the surface (bright state) in the state where the voltage is applied between the corresponding individual electrode and the common electrode. It is configured to perform the display operation of doing, and the display operation is stopped with the voltage application stopped,
The entire display unit 19 is in a dim state (dark state).

Thus, the NCA configured as described above
The P liquid crystal display device 5 is mounted by adhering the reflection plate 11 to the upper surface of the plastic case 20 shown in FIG. On the front side of the case 20, the substrate 2 on which a plurality of light emitting diodes 21 as light emitting elements are mounted is mounted.
2 is attached by elastic engagement with the elastic claw piece 20a.

The light emitting diode 21 has its lead 2
By bending 1a, the light emitting surface is arranged so as to face the front side surface of the light guide member 12. Then, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 21 enters the inside of the light guide member 12 from its front side surface. FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes a wiring board arranged in the case 20, on which electronic circuit components constituting a control device for controlling the washing operation and the NCAP liquid crystal display device 5 are mounted.

In the above structure, when the "ON" switch 6 is operated, the NCAP liquid crystal display device 5 selectively applies a voltage between the plurality of individual electrodes and the common electrode to perform a display operation and emit light. The diode 21 is energized and emits light.

The light emitted from the light emitting diode 21 enters the inside of the light guide member 12. Then, the light incident on the inside of the light guide member 12 is, as indicated by arrows A to D in FIG. 1, a boundary surface of the light guide member 12, that is, a surface which is a boundary surface between the elastic body 13 and the individual electrode film 16. And, on the back surface, the light is reflected, and a part of the light is refracted to the outside. The light reflected on the front surface and the back surface of the light guide member 12 (hereinafter, reflected light A1
.About.D1) is further reflected on the surface on the opposite side, and is partially refracted to go out to the outside, and progresses to the entire inside of the light guide member 12.

Then, by the light refracted on the back surface of the light guide member 12 and emitted to the outside (hereinafter, refracted light At to Dt), NC
The entire surface of the AP liquid crystal panel 10 is illuminated. Of the refracted lights At to Dt, the display unit 19 in which a voltage is applied between the individual electrodes of the individual electrode film 16 and the common electrode of the common electrode film 17 in a portion where the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 is in the light transmission state. The light illuminating the portion P corresponding to
The light enters the liquid crystal panel 10 and is reflected by the reflection plate 11 as indicated by an arrow E, so that the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10,
The light is radiated to the outside through the light guide member 12, the elastic body 13, the membrane switch 9, the ultraviolet barrier film 14, and the overlay 15 in order.

For this reason, the area around the washing machine is dark and NCAP
Even when the external light incident on the liquid crystal panel 10 is small, the light from the light emitting diode 21 is reflected by the reflection plate 11 as described above.
Since it is reflected by, the display unit 19 is in a brightly lit state, and the display unit 19 can be easily visually recognized. Of course, when the surroundings of the washing machine are bright, the external light also reflects the reflector 1.
It is needless to say that the display portion 19 becomes even brighter because it is reflected at 1 and is similarly emitted to the outside from the overlay 15.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the first embodiment is that a transparent film 24 made of plastic, for example, is arranged on the surface of the light guide member 12 as a medium having a smaller refractive index than the light guide member 12.

By the way, in general, the light incident on the first medium is reflected by the boundary surface, part of which is refracted and enters the outer second medium, but all of the incident light is reflected by the boundary surface. The critical angle of total internal reflection becomes smaller when the refractive index of the second medium is smaller than that of the first medium.

Therefore, in the case of the configuration of the second embodiment, the critical angle of total reflection on the surface of the light guide member 12 which is the boundary surface on the transparent film 24 side becomes small, and the light is refracted directly on the surface. Refracted light incident on the transparent film 24 (as shown in FIG.
(Corresponding to the light indicated by ~ Ds) decreases. Then, the amount of light refracted on the back surface of the light guide member 12 and incident on the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 (corresponding to light indicated by At to Dt) increases accordingly, so that when the display unit 19 performs the display operation, Brighter display, and refracted light A when display operation is stopped
The degree of brightening decreases with s to Ds. Therefore, even if the light emitting diode 21 is projected from the entire surface of the light guide member 12, the difference in brightness between the display operation of the display unit 19 and the display stop is large, and clear display can be performed. .

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
This is because the front side surface of the light guide member 12 is an inclined surface 12a having an acute angle (angle θ) with respect to the surface. And
As the light emitting diode 21, one having a high directivity is used, and in the example of FIG. 6A, the light emitting diode 21 is configured so that its emitted light beam is incident on the inside of the light guide member 12 in a state substantially orthogonal to the slope 12a. The light is reflected by the surface of the light guide member 12, and thereafter travels to the entire light guide member 12 while being reflected by the back surface and the surface of the light guide member 12.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, when the emitted light rays of the light emitting diode 21 impinge obliquely on the slope 12a at a certain angle, and the light rays enter the light guide member 12, The light is reflected by the front surface of the light guide member 12 by refraction, and thereafter travels to the entire light guide member 12 while being reflected by the back surface and the front surface of the light guide member 12.

In this way, the angle between the light emitted from the light emitting diode 21 and the surface of the light guide member 12 can be adjusted appropriately. Thereby, the light guide member 12
The amount of light reflected by the surface of the light guide member 12 can be increased, and when the light is reflected by the front surface and the back surface of the light guide member 12, a part of the light goes out and the reflected light quantity is gradually attenuated. It is possible to irradiate the entire NCAP liquid crystal panel 5 by advancing to the whole.

In this case, as in the second embodiment, the transparent film 24 having a smaller refractive index than that of the light guide member 12 is provided on the surface of the light guide member 12 to increase the amount of light reflected on the surface. It is possible to increase the amount of light emitted from the back surface to the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10.

Further, the light guide member 1 is provided on the back surface of the light guide member 12.
By stacking the transparent films 25 having a refractive index larger than 2, the critical angle of total reflection on the back surface of the light guide member 12 can be reduced and the amount of light emitted from the back surface to the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 can be further increased. it can.

FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
This is because the light guide member 12 has the thickness of the light emitting diode 2
From 1 side to the other side (from front to back)
Formed to be gradually thinner, and the surface is NCAP
It is arranged so as to be parallel to the liquid crystal panel 5, and the rear surface is configured to be an inclined surface 12b that inclines toward the front surface from the light emitting diode 21 side to the opposite side.

With this structure, the incident angle θ when the light from the light emitting diode 21 is reflected on the back surface is more than the incident angle θ 1 when the light is reflected on the surface of the light guide member 12.
Since 2 is smaller, the amount of light reflected on the surface is larger,
The amount of light that is refracted from the back surface and irradiates the NCAP liquid crystal panel 5 increases, and the display unit 19 can be made brighter.

FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
This is one in which a concave portion 26 is formed in a portion (display portion 19) of the back surface of the light guide member 12 corresponding to the individual electrode formed on the individual electrode film 16 of the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10. In the case where the concave portion 26 is formed in this way, when the light traveling while reflecting inside the light guide member 12 is refracted from the concave portion 26 and exits to the NCAP liquid crystal panel 10 side, the light is emitted in various directions. Therefore, the entire display unit 19 can be uniformly illuminated.

FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
This is the overlay 15 of the surface of the light guide member 12.
The triangular groove 27 extending in the left-right direction is formed in the portion corresponding to the light shielding layer 15a.

When such a groove 27 is formed, when the light from the light emitting diode 21 is reflected on the surface of the light guide member 12, the reflection direction can be changed by the groove 27, so that the NCAP by the light guide member 12 can be changed. It is possible to uniformly illuminate the liquid crystal panel 10.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the seventh and eighth embodiments of the present invention, in which the light emitting diode 2
1 is related to the arrangement form. First, the seventh embodiment of FIG.
The light emitting diode 21 is directly arranged on the substrate 28 (surface mounting)
The substrate 28 is vertically screwed to the case 20 so that the light emitting diode 21 faces the front side surface of the light guide member 12.

In the eighth embodiment of FIG. 11, the mounting structure of the substrate 22 is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the light emitting diode 2 is used.
1 is attached in an upward state. An extending portion 12c that extends obliquely downward at an angle of about 45 degrees is provided on the front side of the light guide member 12, and the light emitting diode 21 is housed in a recess 12d provided at the tip of the extending portion 12c. ing.

Reflecting plates 29 are provided on both front and back sides of the extending portion 12c, and the light incident from the light emitting diode 21 to the extending portion 21c is reflected by the reflecting plate 29 and guided to the light guide member 12. It is a thing.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and the following expansions and modifications are possible. The light emitting diode 21 may be arranged on the rear side of the light guide member 12, or on the left side or the right side. A lamp may be provided instead of the light emitting diode 21. The recess 26 may be circular, and the recess 2 may be used to facilitate light scattering.
The inner surface of 6 may be provided with a groove.

A medium having a smaller refractive index than the light guide member 12 may be an air layer instead of the transparent film 24. NCA
The liquid crystal panel is not limited to the P liquid crystal panel 10 and may be any liquid crystal panel that reflects other external light and performs a display operation. The present invention is not limited to the display device of the washing machine, and may be applied to other laundry machines, for example, the display device of the dryer.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the light of the light emitting element can be guided to the liquid crystal panel by the light guide member, a clear display can be performed regardless of the brightness of the surroundings. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of an NCAP liquid crystal display device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view for explaining the action of the light guide member.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an NCAP liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a washing machine for combined use of dehydration.

FIG. 5 is a partial vertical sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional side view showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional side view showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 is an NCAP liquid crystal display device, 9 is a membrane switch,
10 is a liquid crystal panel, 11 is a reflection plate (reflection part), 12 is a light guide member, 15 is an overlay, 19 is a display part, 20 is a case, 21 is a light emitting diode (light emitting element), and 24 is a transparent film (of refractive index). A small medium) 26 is a recess.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A display device of a laundry machine for displaying a display related to driving, wherein a liquid crystal panel is brought into a light-transmitting state when a voltage is applied and an incident light is reflected by a reflecting portion on the back side to bring the display portion into a bright state. And a light-transmitting light-transmitting member that is superposed on the front surface side of the liquid crystal panel, and a light-emitting element that allows light to enter from the side surface inside the light-guiding member. The light incident from the element to the inside,
A display of a laundry machine characterized in that the liquid crystal panel is configured to enter the liquid crystal panel from the boundary with the back side while being reflected by the boundary with the front side and the boundary with the back side to travel to the entire light guide member. apparatus. 2. The display device of a laundry machine according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the light guide member is covered with a medium having a light refractive index smaller than that of the light guide member. 3. The light guide member is formed such that the front surface is parallel to the liquid crystal panel and the back surface is an inclined surface inclined from the side surface on the light emitting element side to the side surface on the opposite side toward the front surface side. The display device for a laundry machine according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The display device for a laundry machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of grooves are formed on the surface of the light guide member. 5. The display of a laundry machine according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the back surface of the light guide member facing a light transmitting state of the liquid crystal panel is a recess. apparatus. 6. The side surface of the light guide member on the side of the light emitting element is
The display device for a laundry machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display device is formed on an inclined surface having an acute angle with respect to the surface.