TWI642885B - 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 having a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion; a light guide plate positioned behind the display panel; and a light emitting means for allowing light to enter the light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate has the aforementioned light guide plate A light extraction portion that emits light guided by light in the light guide plate, and the light extraction portion is formed on the back of the light transmission portion more than the back surface of the non-light transmission portion.

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 Document]

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

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the entire light guide plate emits light, and the film is disposed on the light guide plate, and a large amount of light is applied to the light-shielding portion without characters or the like, not only the display portion corresponding to characters or the like. Since it is absorbed by the light-shielding part, there is such a problem that the utilization efficiency of light is low.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device that improves the utilization efficiency of light or a refrigerator including the display device.

A display device comprising: a display panel having a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion; a light guide plate located behind the display panel; and a light emitting means for allowing light to enter the light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate has a guide The light extraction portion that emits light guided by the light in the light plate is formed on the back of the light transmission portion more than the back surface of the light transmission portion.

According to the invention, it is possible to provide a display device which improves the utilization efficiency of light or a refrigerator provided with the display device.

1‧‧‧ refrigerator main body

2a‧‧‧ Left refrigerating compartment door

2b‧‧‧Right refrigerator door

2d‧‧‧Refrigerator

3‧‧‧Upper hinge

3a‧‧‧ Left hinge

3b‧‧‧Right hinge

4a‧‧‧Ice door

4b‧‧‧freezer door

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

14a, 14b‧‧‧ display part (light transmission part)

15‧‧‧Lighting section (non-light transmission section)

16‧‧‧ display panel (film)

17‧‧‧Substrate

23‧‧‧Optical members

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. 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 calculating the brightness 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. Between the refrigerating compartment 2d and the freezing compartment 4d1, a rapid freezing compartment 4d2 is provided, which is urgent An ice making chamber 4d3 is provided in the partition wall of the quick 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.

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

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. Further, it is only necessary to illuminate when the display area 9 and the display area 10 are operated, 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 indicates that only the display of the setting states of the functions currently set is turned on, 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, the display touch is always visible. After the operation of the unit 9a, 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.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation display area 9 in Figure 2 . The display device corresponding to the operation display region 9 includes a display panel (film) 16 having a light transmitting portion (display portion) 14a and a non-light transmitting portion (light shielding portion) 15, and a guide located behind the display panel 16. The light plate 13 is an LED 11 as a light-emitting means for causing visible light to enter the light guide plate 13, and a substrate 17 on which a 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 14a is configured by a transmissive character, a symbol, or the like, and the light shielding unit 15 is formed on the periphery of the display unit 14a. 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 total reflection is repeated 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 portion 12 is formed in a concavo-convex shape as shown in FIG. 4, and is provided in the vicinity of or near the display portion 14a in a larger area than the other regions (the light shielding portion 15) so as to suppress the irradiation of the light shielding portion 15 and the light shielding portion. The light absorbed by the light 15 can efficiently illuminate the light guided in the light guide plate 13 on the display portion 14a, thereby improving the visibility of characters, symbols, and the like.

Further, among the light guide plates 13 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. For this reason, even in the vicinity of the center far from the LED 11 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, 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. In addition, although the light extraction part 12 of FIG. 4 is configured to have a concavo-convex shape, it is not necessarily limited to the concavo-convex shape, and a resin containing a scattering material of visible light may be printed. 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, although the light extraction portion 12 of FIG. 4 is configured to be disposed only on the surface of the light guide plate 13 on the display panel 16 side, it is not necessarily limited to the surface of the light guide plate 13, and may be a guide also disposed on the substrate 17 side. The structure of the back surface of the light plate 13. The light extraction portion 12 is more effective than the front surface of the light guide plate 13 in providing a plurality of front surfaces of the light guide plate 13. The reason is that the light emitted from the light extraction portion 12 on the back surface of the light guide plate 13 can be prevented from being absorbed by the substrate 17, and the light reflected in the various directions in the substrate 17 can be shielded from light by the display panel 16. Part 15 absorbed.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the operation display area 9 and the display area 10 are placed upside down. Further, in each region, as shown in FIG. 3, a plate-shaped light guide plate 13 and a plate-shaped optical member 23 are provided adjacent to each other.

Further, the light guide plate 13 has a flat surface facing the optical member 23. Further, the angle formed by the left and right side faces 13a and the upper end face 13b of the light guide plate 13 is 84° or more and 90° or less according to the law of the sere. Thereby, the light incident from the LED 11 is totally reflected on the upper end surface 13b of the light guide plate 13, and the light leakage to the side of the optical member 23 is suppressed, and the light guided in the light guide plate 13 can be efficiently irradiated. The display unit 14a enhances the visibility of characters and the like. 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.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the brightness of the display portion 14a in the case where the light guide plate 13 of the light extraction portion 12 of the present embodiment is applied. In terms of calculation, optical simulation is used. In other words, the optical characteristics of the LEDs produced by the LED manufacturer, the structure of the light extraction unit and the light guide plate, and the material characteristics are simulated, and the trajectory of the light incident from the LED is conventionally constructed in accordance with the configuration of the present embodiment. The light guide plate was calculated, and the relative amount of the number of arrival points of the light was evaluated. Fig. 5 is a result of calculating the degree of utilization of light incident from the LED, and distinguishing by the arrival point of the incident light.

As a result, it is found that although in the present embodiment, the number of LEDs is halved from the conventional structure (the number of LEDs 11 is made smaller than that of the display portion 14a) The brightness of the display portion 14a is still the same as the conventional structure. The reason will be described below. The highest among the losses of the conventional structure is the absorption by the light-shielding portion on the back surface of the display panel 16. However, in this embodiment, since the number of light extraction portions behind the display portion 14a is larger than that of other regions, it is estimated that the suppression is toward The irradiation by the light shielding portion 15 efficiently emits light to the display portion 14a such as a character or a symbol. In addition, in the present embodiment, the light extraction portion 12 having a larger number of the light-receiving portions than the back surface is provided on the surface of the light guide plate. Therefore, the luminous efficiency of the surface of the light guide plate is improved. The last loss portion is light leakage from the side surface of the light guide plate. In the present embodiment, it is estimated that the side surface of the light guide plate 23 facing the optical member 23 is flat and the left and right side faces 13a and upper end faces of the light guide plate 13 are made. The angle formed by 13b is an effect of 84° or more and 90° or less.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it has been confirmed that the display device for improving the visibility of the display portion 14a can be provided while suppressing the number of mounted LED light sources.

Further, in the display region 10, an LED (not shown) is provided behind the optical member 23. The optical member 23 and the LED are disposed on the substrate 17 common to the operation display region 9. Then, the optical member 23 is discharged from the display portion 14a (light transmitting portion) to the front surface side of the display panel 16 common to the operation display region 9 through the optical member 23.

Here, the operation display area 9 does not cause the respective display portions (light-transmitting portions) 14a to be individually lit, but the entire display unit 10 is configured to light the respective display portions (light-transmitting according to the setting contents). Part) 14b lights up individually.

Further, although not shown, the detecting unit that detects the change in capacitance is located on the back surface of the operation display region 9. This detecting portion is provided on the back side of the light guide plate 13, that is, a plurality of the front side of the substrate 17.

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 a washing machine or an IH cooking heater. Further, the light source may be not only an LED but a cold cathode fluorescent tube, an organic EL, an inorganic EL, a 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 (6)

A display device includes: a display panel having a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion; a light guide plate positioned behind the display panel; and a light emitting means for allowing light to enter the light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate has the aforementioned light guide plate A light extraction portion that emits light guided by light in the light guide plate, and the light extraction portion is formed on the back of the light transmission portion more than the back surface of the non-light transmission portion. A display device includes: a display panel having a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion; a light guide plate positioned behind the display panel; and a light emitting means for allowing light to enter the light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate has the aforementioned light guide plate a light extraction unit that emits light guided by light in the light guide plate, wherein the light-emitting means is located on the left and right sides of the light guide plate, and the density of the extraction portion on the center side is the light extraction portion on the left and right end sides. The density is high. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light extraction portion is formed by a plurality of display panel sides of the light guide plate than the back surface thereof. A display device includes: a display panel having a light transmitting portion and a non-light transmitting portion; a light guide plate positioned behind the display panel; and a light emitting means for allowing light to enter the light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate and the optical member are arranged side by side The surface of the light guide plate facing the adjacent optical member is flat. The display device of claim 4, wherein The angle between the surface of the light guide plate facing the adjacent optical member and the surface of the light guide plate facing the light guide plate is 84° or more and 90° or less. 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 5 is provided.