TWI632405B - Display device and refrigerator having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device that improves light utilization efficiency and a refrigerator provided therewith are provided.

A display device includes: a display panel; a light guide plate located behind the display panel; and a light-emitting means for causing light to enter the light guide plate; and a substrate for detecting a change in capacitance when the display panel is mounted behind the display panel, The light guide plate has a light extraction portion that discharges light guided in the light guide plate, and the light extraction portion is formed such that the display panel side of the light guide plate is formed more than the substrate side of the light guide plate. .

Description

Display device and refrigerator having the same

The present invention relates to a display device and a refrigerator provided therewith.

The use of a display device under a light guide plate in household appliances such as refrigerators and microwave ovens, portable devices, and the like is increasing. The light guide plate is a plate in which light incident from a side surface of a transparent plate such as acrylic or polystyrene is guided by total reflection under the law of Isern, and light is formed on the surface. The part scatters part of the light and emits light. Further, the display device is configured such that a film of a character, a symbol, or a light-shielding is disposed on the surface side of the light guide plate, and the character or the like is irradiated with light from a light source. As described in the prior art of the display device under the light guide plate, for example, Patent Document 1 exists.

Patent Document 1 includes a storage compartment of a refrigerator main body, a storage compartment door that opens and closes a front opening of the storage compartment, a translucent front panel of the front surface of the storage compartment door, a substrate on the back surface of the front panel, and a substrate. a display member between the front panel and the front surface panel, an illumination means for irradiating the display member toward the front surface of the door, a detecting portion for detecting a change in capacitance behind the display member, and a guide between the display member and the detecting portion Light board, check The control unit that controls the measuring unit and the illumination means configures the illumination means and the detection unit on the substrate, and the detection unit adopts a mutual capacitance type.

[Previous Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2015-55361

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the entire light guide plate emits light, and the film is disposed on the light guide plate, and not only the display portion (light transmitting portion) corresponding to characters or the like, but a large amount of light is irradiated on the non-text. Since the light-shielding portion (non-light-transmitting portion) is absorbed by the light-shielding portion, there is a problem that the light use efficiency is low. Further, there is a problem in that the sensitivity of the touch panel is lowered or the light is leaked toward the substrate side at the contact portion due to deformation or shaking of the light guide plate.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device or a refrigerator including the display device, which improves the light use efficiency while maintaining the sensitivity of the touch panel.

A display device includes: a display panel; a light guide plate located behind the display panel; and a light-emitting hand for allowing light to enter the light guide plate a substrate in which a detecting portion for detecting a change in capacitance is mounted behind the display panel, wherein the light guiding plate has a light extracting portion that discharges light guided in the light guiding plate, and the light extracting portion The display panel side of the light guide plate is formed in plural more than the substrate side of the light guide plate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device or a refrigerator including the display device, which improves the light use efficiency while maintaining the sensitivity of the touch panel.

1‧‧‧ refrigerator main body

2a‧‧‧ Left refrigerating compartment door

2b‧‧‧Right refrigerator door

2d‧‧‧Refrigerator

3‧‧‧Upper hinge

3a‧‧‧ Left hinge

3a, 3b‧‧‧ right hinge

3b, 4a‧‧‧Ice door

4b‧‧‧freezer door

4b, 4c‧‧‧quick freezer door

4d1‧‧‧freezer

4d2‧‧‧quick freezer

4d3‧‧‧ ice making room

5‧‧‧ vegetable room door

5d‧‧‧ vegetable room

6‧‧‧Front front panel (glass panel)

9‧‧‧Operation display area

9a‧‧‧Display touch unit

10‧‧‧Display area

11‧‧‧LED

12‧‧‧Light extraction department

13‧‧‧Light guide plate

14‧‧‧ Display section (light transmission section)

15‧‧‧ Non-transmission department

16‧‧‧ display panel (film)

17‧‧‧Substrate

18‧‧‧ touch sensor

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a display state of the display portion and the operation display region of the P portion shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view showing a state in which a film is removed from the display device according to the embodiment.

[Fig. 4] A cross-sectional view of the operation display area in Fig. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a result of calculation of an illuminance distribution of a conventional display unit. FIG.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the result of calculation using the illuminance distribution of the display unit in the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Here, a refrigerator in which the display device according to the present invention is built in the storage room door will be described as an example.

Fig. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the display unit and the operation unit are in a non-display state. The refrigerator main body 1 has a refrigerating compartment 2d, a freezing compartment 4d1, a vegetable compartment 5d, and the like in this order. A rapid freezing compartment 4d2 is provided between the refrigerating compartment 2d and the freezing compartment 4d1, and an ice making compartment 4d3 is provided in the partition wall of the rapid freezing compartment 4d2.

Further, a door that opens and closes the front opening is provided in front of each storage compartment. In other words, the left refrigerating compartment door 2a and the right refrigerating compartment door 2b are provided in front of the refrigerating compartment 2d, and the individual front openings of the freezing compartment 4d1, the rapid freezing compartment 4d2, the ice making compartment 4d3, and the vegetable compartment 5d are provided. A freezing compartment door 4b, a rapid freezing compartment door 4c, an ice making compartment door 4a, and a vegetable compartment door 5 are provided, respectively.

The left refrigerating compartment door 2a and the right refrigerating compartment door 2b are rotatably supported by the upper hinge 3 (the left hinge 3a and the right hinge 3b) provided in the upper part of the refrigerator main body 1, respectively. That is, the so-called French door which is configured as a left-right split type is constructed.

Further, the freezing compartment door 4b, the quick freezing compartment door 4c, the ice making compartment door 4a, and the vegetable compartment door 5 are each a pull-out type door, and are taken out together with the containers of the individual storage compartments.

And, the left refrigerating compartment door 2a and the right refrigerating compartment door 2b, freezing The door 4b, the quick freezing compartment door 4c, the ice making compartment door 4a, and the vegetable compartment door 5 are provided with a door front surface plate (glass plate) 6 having transparency on the outer surface thereof.

Next, the operation display area 9 serving as the operation area and the display area is operated by the user from the outside, and the room temperature of each storage room such as the refrigerator compartment 2d and the freezing compartment 4d1 is set, or the refrigerator compartment 2d and the freezer compartment 4d1 are set. Wait for rapid cooling, or set the operation of the ice making device on/off, rapid ice making, etc. That is, the user operates the display area 9 so that the functions of the refrigerator can be set.

Further, the display area 10 is displayed by the input result of the operation display area 9. The display area 10 can be passed through to confirm the operation performed by the user in the operation display area 9, or to confirm the status of the functions set in advance.

Further, the display touch panel 9a for turning on the operation display region 9 and the display region 10 is operated such that the operation display region 9 and the display region 10 are shifted from the light-off state of FIG. 1 to the light-off state of FIG. Lights up. In other words, the user presses, touches, and brings the finger closer to the display touch portion 9a (as a character display mark of "MENU"), and the operation is performed other than the touch portion 9a for display that is normally recognized. The characters, symbols, and the like of the display area 9 and the display area 10 are switched from the light-off state to the light-on state, and are displayed on the glass plate 6, and the operation of the display area 9 can be performed. Therefore, the display of the characters and graphics that are normally and frequently recognized is only the display of the touch portion 9a, and the non-lighting operation of the display region 9 and the display region 10 can be made into a simple appearance, and the design feeling is improved. this In addition, it is only necessary to operate the display area 9 and the display area 10 to illuminate, so that an energy saving effect can be obtained.

Further, when the touch unit 9a is operated, all the characters, graphics, and the like of the operation display area 9 and the display area 10 are illuminated. After the lapse of a certain period of time, the display area 10 displays only the display of the setting states of the functions currently set, and the other displays are turned off. Further, when the non-operating state has elapsed for a certain period of time, the characters, graphics, and the like of the operation display area 9 and the display area 10 are all turned off, and only the display touch unit 9a is visually recognized. In this way, after the display touch panel 9a is always visible, all the characters and the like are temporarily turned on, so that the user can confirm the function of the refrigerator and can confirm which setting changes can be made.

Further, the back surface of the glass plate 6 is coated with a color paint. By this means, the foamed heat insulating material is not seen from the front side, and the operation display region 9 and the display region 10 are clearly seen through the operation of the display touch portion 9a, so that the door having excellent appearance can be realized.

3 is a front view showing a state in which the film is removed from the display device, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation display region 9 in FIG. The display device corresponding to the operation display area 9 includes a display panel (film) 16 having a display portion (light transmitting portion) 14 and a non-light transmitting portion 15, and a light guide plate 13 located behind the display panel 16 as The LED 11 that emits visible light into the light-emitting means in the light guide plate 13 and the substrate 17 on which the control circuit is provided. Further, the light guide plate 13 has a light extraction portion 12 that discharges light guided inside the light guide plate 13.

Here, the display unit 14 is configured by a transmissive character, a symbol, or the like, and the non-transmissive portion 15 is formed on the periphery of the display unit 14. Further, a voltage is applied to the LEDs 11 disposed on the left and right sides of the light guide plate 13 formed of an acrylic material, so that light emitted from the LEDs 11 is incident from the side surface of the light guide plate 13, and is totally totally reflected to guide light inside the light guide plate 13. . Further, when the light reaches the light extraction portion 12 formed on the surface of the light guide plate 13, light is emitted therefrom. Further, the LED 11 and the light guide plate 13 are not placed in the front-rear direction of the substrate 17, but are placed in the left-right direction of the substrate 17, so that the entire display device can be made thinner, and the foam insulation which is filled on the back side of the display device can be increased. The thickness of the material ensures thermal insulation.

The light extraction unit 12 is provided in the vicinity of or near the display unit 14 as shown in FIG. 4, and is provided in a larger amount than the other regions (non-light-transmitting portions 15) so as to suppress the irradiation to the non-light-transmitting portion 15 and to be impervious. The light absorbed by the light portion 15 can efficiently illuminate the light guided in the light guide plate 13 on the display portion 14, thereby improving the visibility of characters, symbols, and the like.

Further, the light extraction portion 12 of FIG. 4 is more effective than the front surface (display panel side) of the light guide plate 13 than the back surface (substrate side) of the light guide plate 13. This is because the light emitted from the light extraction portion 12 on the back surface of the light guide plate 13 is prevented from being absorbed by the substrate 17, and the light reflected in the various directions in the substrate 17 is absorbed by the non-light transmitting portion 15 of the display panel 16.

Further, among the light guide plates 13 which are formed to be long in the left-right direction, the density of the light extraction portion 12 on the center side is higher than the density of the light extraction portions 12 on the left and right end sides. The center here is the line on the light guide plate 13 of the LED 11 which is farthest from the left and right sides. For this, even in In the vicinity of the center far from the LED 11 and where light is hard to reach, a sufficient amount of light can be emitted, and unevenness in brightness in the left and right direction can be appropriately adjusted.

Further, in the light extraction portion 12 of FIG. 4, the front surface and the back surface of the light guide plate 13 are both convex, but they are not necessarily limited to the convex shape, and may be concave. Among them, the light extraction portion 12 on the back side of the light guide plate 13 is more convex than the concave shape. Further, the height of the convex light extraction region 12b at the center of the back surface of the light guide plate 13 is higher than the height of the peripheral light extraction region. Further, the convex light extraction portion 12 is preferably a polygonal pyramid such as a hexagonal cone or a cone or the like than the polygonal column. The reason is that the convex light extraction portion 12 on the back surface of the light guide plate 13 is in point contact with the substrate 17 near the center of the light guide plate 13, so that the touch sensor 18 can be suppressed from being deformed or shaken by the light guide plate 13 When the sensitivity is lowered, light leakage toward the substrate 17 side is suppressed.

Further, the light extraction portion 12 on the back side is preferably formed in the center of the light guide plate 13 to be in the range of 2/3 of the LED 11. More preferably, it is effective that the light extraction region 12 is formed in the center of the light guide plate 13 to a range of 1/2 of the LED 11. The reason is that the convex light extraction portion 12 on the back surface of the light guide plate 13 is formed near the center of the light guide plate 13, so that the sensitivity of the touch sensor 18 due to deformation and shaking of the light guide plate 13 can be suppressed. Light leakage toward the substrate 17 side is suppressed.

Further, the two light extraction portions 12 on the side of the substrate 17 and at the center of the left and right are formed to be higher than the light extraction region 12a on both sides of the light extraction region 12b on the center side. . The reason is that, by this, the light extraction efficiency in the center of the display portion is improved. l, the recognition of the text improved.

Further, the light extraction portion 12 may be another manufacturing method capable of performing uneven processing such as laser processing, metal mold molding, or sand blasting. Moreover, the light extraction part 12 of FIG. 4 can also print the resin containing the scattering material of visible light. When the light guided by the total reflection in the light guide plate 13 reaches the scattering material, the light is scattered and can be efficiently irradiated on characters, symbols, and the like.

Further, the side surface of the light guide plate 13 is flat. Thereby, the light incident from the LED 11 is totally reflected on the end surface of the light guide plate 13, and light leakage can be suppressed, and light guided in the light guide plate 13 can be efficiently irradiated onto the display unit 14, and visibility of characters and the like can be suppressed. Upgrade. Further, the side surface (end surface) of the light guide plate is formed by cutting the acrylic plate into a desired shape and then performing mirror polishing as the final polishing. However, the side surface is transparent, and the manufacturing method can be particularly limited.

Further, a black ink is printed on the surface of the substrate 17 on the back side of the light guide plate 13. As a result, most of the light emitted toward the substrate side is reflected by the substrate and then emitted to the light extraction portion of the display panel. Therefore, the light can be efficiently irradiated onto the display unit 14, and visibility such as characters can be improved.

5 is a diagram showing the illuminance distribution of the display unit 14 of the light guide plate of the conventional structure, and FIG. 6 is an illuminance distribution of the display unit 14 in the case where the light guide plate 13 of the light extraction unit 12 of the present embodiment is applied. Painter. In terms of calculation, optical simulation is used. That is, the optical characteristics of the LED produced by the LED manufacturer, the structure of the light extraction portion and the light guide plate, and the material characteristics are simulated, and the light incident from the LED is controlled. The track was calculated by conventionally constructing a light guide plate having the structure of the present embodiment, and the distribution of light emitted toward the display surface side was evaluated.

As a result, in the present embodiment, the luminances on both sides of the light guide plate 13 are not greatly changed as compared with the conventional structure; on the other hand, the brightness in the center of the light guide plate 13 is increased to improve unevenness in brightness. The reason will be described below. The reason for the estimation is that, in the vicinity of the center of the darkest light guide plate 13 in the conventional structure, in the present embodiment, the number of the light extraction portions 12 is larger than the other regions in the vicinity of the left and right centers on the substrate side of the light guide plate 13. Therefore, most of the light emitted toward the substrate side is reflected on the substrate 17, and then the light is emitted from the light extraction portion 12 on the display panel 16 side. In addition, it is presumed that the two light extraction portions 12 on the side of the substrate 17 and at the center of the left and right are further formed such that the density and height of the light extraction region 12b on the center side are higher than the light extraction regions 12a on both sides thereof, so that the display is performed. The efficiency of the light extraction portion 12 at the center of the plate 16 side is improved.

Further, in the display unit produced by the present embodiment, the brightness of each display unit can be made uniform, and the sensitivity of the touch panel due to deformation or shaking of the light guide plate can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it has been confirmed that a display device can be provided which can improve the light use efficiency and enhance the brightness of the central display unit 14 while maintaining the sensitivity of the touch panel.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a refrigerator in which a display device is built in a storage room door, and is also effective for other home appliances, industrial products, and the like having a display device such as an air cleaner, a washing machine, and an IH cooking heater. In addition, the light source is not only an LED but a cold cathode fluorescent tube, organic EL, inorganic EL, phosphor, and other illuminants. Further, in terms of the light guide plate, it is effective to use an acrylic resin, a polycarbonate, a polystyrene or the like with respect to a transmittance higher than visible light.

Claims (8)

A display device includes: a display panel; a light guide plate located behind the display panel; and a light-emitting means for causing light to enter the light guide plate; and a substrate for detecting a change in capacitance when the display panel is mounted behind the display panel, The light guide plate has a light extraction portion that discharges light guided in the light guide plate, and the light extraction portion is formed such that the display panel side of the light guide plate is formed more than the substrate side of the light guide plate. . The display panel has a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion, and the light extracting portion is formed more behind the light transmitting portion than the back portion of the non-light transmitting portion. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting means is located on a side of the light guide plate, and a density of the light extraction portion on the center side is higher than a density of the light extraction portions on both end sides. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light extraction portion on the substrate side is convex, and the height at the center is higher than the height of the periphery. The display device according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the light-receiving portion of the light guide plate is formed in a range of 2/3 of the light-emitting means from the center of the light guide plate to the light-emitting means . The display device according to claim 3, wherein the convex light extraction portion is densely attached to the light extraction region on the center side. Either or both of the degree and the height are formed to be high. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the convex light extraction portion is formed to be high in either or both of the density and the height of the light extraction region on the center side. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light guide plate has a flat side surface. A refrigerator comprising a storage compartment door for opening and closing a front opening of a storage compartment, and a heat insulating material in the storage compartment door, wherein the display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is provided.