WO2020179784A1

WO2020179784A1 - Display device

Info

Publication number: WO2020179784A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/008913
Authority: WO
Inventors: 北斗齊藤; 裕藤田
Original assignee: 日本精機株式会社
Priority date: 2019-03-04
Filing date: 2020-03-03
Publication date: 2020-09-10

Abstract

The present invention provides a display device capable of shortening the distance from a display area to an external shape, and improving appearance marketability. This display device is provided with: a display unit 30 that has a front surface 30a having a display screen 35, a rear surface 30b facing the front surface 30a, and a side surface 30c orthogonal to the front surface 30a and the rear surface 30b; a substrate 40 that is disposed on the rear surface 30b side and controls the display unit 30; a case member 10 that houses the display unit 30 and the substrate 40 and has an opening 11 for exposing the display screen 35; a protection member 20 that covers the opening 11; an outside light sensor 50 that is housed in the case member 10 and has a detection surface 51 for detecting outside light on the front surface side of the protection member 20; a flexible printed board 60 that has one end connected to the outside light sensor 50 and the other end connected to the substrate 40, and, together with the outside light sensor 50, is secured to the side surface 30c such that the detection surface 51 is along the side surface 30c; and a light guiding body 70 that guides the outside light incident from the protection member 20 to the detection surface 51.

Description

Display device

This disclosure relates to a display device mounted on a vehicle or the like.

The display device mainly has a display unit and a circuit board arranged behind the display unit to control the display unit. The circuit board mounts various electronic components for electrically controlling the display unit. When the electronic component and the display unit cannot be arranged so as to overlap each other in the front-rear direction due to the operation of the electronic component, the electronic component is, for example, outside the display unit on a circuit board having an outer shape larger than the outer shape of the display unit. Will be placed in. For example, the light source that illuminates the front surface of the display device is arranged outside the display device because the light must be guided to the front side of the display device without being blocked by the display unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2017-90757

When the circuit board has an outer shape larger than the outer shape of the display unit, the distance from the outer edge of the display area of the display unit to the outer shape of the display device becomes large, and there is a problem that the appearance is inferior in commerciality such as a narrow frame.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a display device capable of narrowing the distance from the display area to the outer shape and improving the appearance and commercial value.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the display device according to the present disclosure includes a display unit having a front surface having a display screen, a back surface facing the front surface, and a side surface orthogonal to the front surface and the back surface. A substrate for controlling the display unit, a case member having an opening for accommodating the display unit and the substrate and exposing the display screen, a protective member for covering the opening, and the case member arranged on the back side. It has an external light sensor having a detection surface for detecting external light on the front side of the protective member, one end connected to the external light sensor, and the other end connected to the substrate. It includes a flexible printed substrate fixed to the side surface together with the external light sensor so that the detection surface follows the side surface, and a light guide body that guides the external light incident from the protective member to the detection surface.

In the display device of the present disclosure, the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

The front view which shows the display device which is the embodiment of the display device of this disclosure. The disassembled perspective view of a display apparatus. Sectional drawing along line III-III of FIG. Enlarged view of the external light sensor seen from the detection surface side. External perspective view of the light guide unit. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG.

An embodiment of the display device of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The display device of the present disclosure can be applied to all display devices having an external light sensor, and can be mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile or a motorcycle, a ship, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a display device 1 which is an embodiment of the display device of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the display device 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.

In the following description, "front (front)", "rear (rear)", "top", "bottom", "right", and "left" are defined as "Fr.", "Fr." in FIGS. 1 to 6. Follow "Re.", "To.", "Bo.", "R", and "L".

The display device 1 mainly includes a case 10, a cover 20, a display unit 30, a circuit board 40, an external light sensor 50, a flexible printed circuit board 60, and a light guide unit 70.

The case 10 (case member) is made of a resin such as black (for example, polypropylene). The case 10 accommodates the display unit 30 and the circuit board 40 in the internal space from the back side and protects them from external impact, dust and the like. The case 10 may have a mounting structure for mounting on, for example, a vehicle, which is a mounted portion of the display device 1. The case 10 has an opening 11 that exposes the display screen 35.

The cover 20 (protective member) covers the opening 11 on the front side of the display unit 30 and protects the display unit 30 and the circuit board 40 inside the case 10 from dust and the like. The cover 20 has a base material 21 and a printing layer 22. The base material 21 is a translucent thermoplastic resin (for example, polycarbonate resin or polymethyl methacrylate resin (PMMA)). The print layer 22 is formed on the outer edge side of the back surface (or front surface, both sides) of the base material 21 with a light-shielding ink. The inside of the print layer 22 of the cover 20 is the display screen 35 of the display unit 30. In addition, the cover 20 has sensor windows 23 having translucency due to the fact that the printing layer 22 is not formed at substantially the center positions of the printing layer 22 in the vertical direction at both ends in the horizontal direction.

The display unit 30 (display unit) has a display panel and a backlight unit.

The display panel is, for example, a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type normally black type (black display when no voltage is applied) liquid crystal display panel. The display panel has a pair of surface glass substrates that enclose the liquid crystal layer. A transparent electrode is formed on the pair of glass substrates by ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like. Further, the display panel has a pair of surface polarizing plates (polarizing filters) arranged so as to sandwich the pair of surface glass substrates. The display panel is connected to the circuit board 40 via a flexible printed circuit board (FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits)) not shown. The display panel is controlled by the control unit of the circuit board 40, so that a driving voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer via the transparent electrode. As a result, the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is controlled, and the transmittance of each pixel of the display panel changes, so that the display panel displays an image.

The backlight unit is provided on the back side of the display panel. The backlight unit includes a light source substrate and a light guide, and illuminates the display panel from the back side. A plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), which are an example of a light source, are mounted on the light source substrate. The light source board is connected to the circuit board 40 via a flexible board such as an FPC. When the drive current is supplied, the LED emits light toward the light guide body. The light guide guides the light emitted by the LED toward the display panel. The light guide body is a transparent resin (for example, PMMA) formed in a flat plate shape.

The display unit 30 has a square shape having a constant thickness in the front-rear direction in which the display panel and the backlight unit are integrated. The display unit 30 has a front surface 30a, a back surface 30b, and a side surface 30c. The front surface 30a is a surface having a display screen 35. The front surface 30a is adhered to the cover 20 by an opticarboning with a translucent adhesive (not shown). The back surface 30b is a surface facing the front surface 30a. The side surface 30c is four surfaces orthogonal to the front surface 30a and the back surface 30b and along the front-rear direction.

The circuit board 40 is arranged on the back surface 30b side of the display unit 30. The circuit board 40 has an outer shape smaller than the outer shape (area) of the display unit 30 in the front view of the display unit 30. That is, the circuit board 40 is hidden behind the display unit 30 on the back surface 30b side and is not visually recognized in the front view.

The circuit board 40 mainly has a control unit for controlling the display unit 30. The control unit has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and executes a predetermined arithmetic process according to a program written in the ROM, for example. For example, the control unit acquires vehicle speed, engine speed, various vehicle information, navigation information, etc. from the vehicle's ECU (Electronic Control Unit) via various sensors and the like. The control unit causes the display unit 30 to display the information based on the acquired information.

The external light sensor 50 is, for example, a photodiode and detects external light (illuminance of external light) on the front surface side of the cover 20 (outside of the display device 1). The external light sensor 50 is located outside the display unit 30 inside the case 10 at substantially the center position in the vertical direction at both ends in the left-right direction. Here, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the external light sensor 50 viewed from the detection surface 51 side. The external light sensor 50 has a detection surface 51. The external light sensor 50 is connected to the circuit board 40 by the FPC 60. The external light sensor 50 is fixed to the electrode portion 61 of the FPC 60 on the fixed surface 52 side facing the detection surface 51.

One end of the FPC 60 is electrically connected to the external light sensor 50, and the other end is electrically connected to the circuit board 40. Further, the FPC 60 is fixed to the side surface 30c of the display unit 30 together with the external light sensor 50 so that the detection surface 51 is along the side surface 30c of the display unit 30, that is, the surface directions of the detection surface 51 coincide with the front-rear direction. To. The FPC 60 is fixed to the side surface 30c by, for example, the double-sided tape 80 (FIG. 4). The FPC 60 is bent from the side surface 30c to the back surface 30b side and connected to the circuit board 40 located on the back surface 30b side of the display unit 30 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The light guide unit 70 includes a light guide 71 and a light shielding case 75. Here, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the light guide unit 70. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. The light guide body 71 and the light-shielding case 75 are integrally molded by two-color molding or the like. The light guide unit 70 has a substantially flat plate shape having a constant thickness along the surface direction of the side surface 30c.

The light guide 71 is made of a transparent resin having a light-transmitting property (for example, PMMA). The light guide body 71 guides the external light incident from the cover 20 to the detection surface 51. The light guide body 71 has a light receiving surface 71a, a light emitting surface 71b, and a reflecting surface 71c. The light receiving surface 71a receives external light. The light receiving surface 71a faces the base material 21 of the cover 20 along a surface orthogonal to the front-rear direction. The light receiving surface 71a is formed larger than the sensor window 23 and is formed in a region overlapping the print layer 22. The light receiving surface 71a is also formed on the front surface side of the external light sensor 50. The light emitting surface 71b emits external light toward the detection surface 51 of the external light sensor 50. The light emitting surface 71b is a surface that faces the detection surface 51 and extends in the front-rear direction. The light emitting surface 71b is a surface located on the opposite side of the display unit 30 from the position of the light receiving surface 71a on the display unit 30 side. The reflecting surface 71c reflects the light received by the light receiving surface 71a toward the light emitting surface 71b. The reflecting surface 71c directs the light 2 traveling straight from the light receiving surface 71a shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and the light reflected by the surface of the light guide body 71 other than the reflecting surface 71c and reaching the reflecting surface 71c toward the light emitting surface 71b. And reflect.

The light shielding case 75 (support member) is made of a resin such as black (for example, polypropylene) and is a portion shown by hatching in FIG. The light-shielding case 75 supports the light guide 71. The light-shielding case 75 shields the surface of the light guide body 71 that does not act on the light guide of the external light so that unnecessary light other than the external light such as the light traveling inside the case 10 is not guided to the light guide body 71. Specifically, the light shielding case 75 shields at least a part of the surfaces other than the light receiving surface 71a, the reflecting surface 71c, and the light emitting surface 71b. “A surface other than the light receiving surface 71a, the reflecting surface 71c, and the light emitting surface 71b” is, for example, side surfaces 71d located at both ends in the front-rear direction of the light guide body 71 orthogonal to the light receiving surface 71a and the light emitting surface 71b. As a result, the light-shielding case 75 can reduce the incident light from other than the light-receiving surface 71a.

Further, the light shielding case 75 forms the gap 3 without contacting the reflecting surface 71c so as not to attenuate the light incident from the light receiving surface 71a. As a result, the light guide body 71 is light-shielded by being in close contact with and supported by the light-shielding case 75 on the side surface 71d, and the other surface faces the air layer without being supported by the light-shielding case 75, so that light is suitably applied. Reflect.

The light guide unit 70 (the light guide 71 and the light shielding case 75) is fixed to the side surface 30c with the double-sided tape 80 together with the external light sensor 50 and the FPC 60. Specifically, the light-shielding case 75 has a concave portion 78 formed in a concave shape on the inner surface 77a on the detection surface 51 side so as to face the electrode portion 61 and escape the electrode portion 61. The external light sensor 50 and the electrode portion 61 are arranged in the recess 78, and the inner surface 77a of the light guide unit 70 is attached to one adhesive surface 81a (FIG. 4) of the double-sided tape 80 together with the external light sensor 50 and the electrode portion 61. Can be attached. As a result, the external light sensor 50, the FPC 60, and the light guide unit 70 are integrated and attached to the side surface 30c of the display unit 30 by the other adhesive surface 81b (FIG. 2) of the double-sided tape 80. Further, since the inner surface 77a is in close contact with the electrode portion 61 and the adhesive surface 81a to cover the light guide body 71, it is possible to reduce the possibility that unnecessary light is guided to the light guide body 71 from the inner surface 77a side.

The outer surface 77b (the surface of the light guide body 71 facing the light emitting surface 71b) facing the inner surface 77a of the light-shielding case 75 is arranged in close contact with the concave inner wall recess 12a formed on the inner wall 12 of the case 10. .. As a result, the light shielding case 75 can reduce unnecessary light from being guided to the light guide body 71 through the gap between the light shielding case 75 and the case 10. On the other hand, the light guide body 71 faces the inner wall recess 12a via the gap 4. As a result, the light guide body 71 can reduce the emission of external light from the light guide body 71 and attenuation at the inner wall recess 12a.

In such a display device 1, the external light sensor 50 that detects the external light taken in from the cover 20 can be arranged in a space-efficient manner. That is, the external light sensor 50 is arranged on the side surface 30c of the display unit 30 via the FPC 60 without being mounted on the front surface 40a of the circuit board 40. As a result, it is not necessary to make the outer shape of the circuit board 40 larger than the outer shape of the display unit 30 and to prepare a space for mounting the external light sensor 50 so as to face the sensor window 23. Therefore, the display device 1 can improve the degree of freedom in design.

Further, as a result of the display device 1 being able to reduce the outer shape of the circuit board 40, the proportion of the display screen 35 in the display device 1 can be increased. Therefore, the display device 1 can realize a so-called "narrow frame" in which the distance between the outer edge 1a of the display device 1 and the outer edge 35a of the display screen 35 is reduced.

Further, since the external light sensor 50 is fixed to the side surface 30c of the display unit 30, it is not necessary to provide a new fixed structure for the external light sensor 50, and the manufacturability of the display device 1 is not deteriorated.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the scope equivalent thereto.

For example, the display unit 30 is not limited to a display panel such as a liquid crystal display, but may be a display unit such as a pointer-type instrument.

Instead of being held by the light shielding case 75, the light guide body 71 may be fixed to this fixing structure by providing a fixing structure such as a slit on the inner wall 12 of the case 10.

To prevent the light guide body 71 and the external light sensor 50 inside the case 10 from being visually recognized from the sensor window 23 of the cover 20, the light receiving surface 71a of the light guide body 71 is textured, and the base material 21 and the light guide body 71 are formed. It may be formed of a smoke-colored resin. As a result, the display device 1 can have a seamless feeling.

1 Display device 1a Outer edge 2

Light

3, 4 Gap 10 Case (case member)
11 Opening 12 Inner wall 12a Inner wall recess 20 Cover (protective member)
21 Base material 22 Printing layer 23 Sensor window 30 Display unit (display unit)
30a front surface 30b back surface 30c side surface 35 display screen 35a outer edge 40 circuit board (board)
40a front surface 50 external light sensor 51 detection surface 52 fixed surface 60 flexible printed circuit board (FPC)
61 Electrode unit 70 Light guide unit 71 Light guide 71a Light receiving surface 71b Light emitting surface

71c Reflecting surface

71d Side surface 75 Light shielding case (support member)

77a Inner surface

77b Outer surface 78 Recessed portion 80 Double-

sided tape

81a, 81b Adhesive surface

Claims

A display unit having a front surface having a display screen, a back surface facing the front surface, and a side surface orthogonal to the front surface and the back surface;
A substrate that controls the display unit and is arranged on the back surface side.
A case member having an opening for accommodating the display unit and the substrate and exposing the display screen.
A protective member that covers the opening and
An external light sensor housed in the case member and having a detection surface for detecting external light on the front side of the protective member.
A flexible printed circuit board having one end connected to the external light sensor and the other end connected to the substrate, and fixed to the side surface together with the external light sensor so that the detection surface is along the side surface. ,
A display device including a light guide body that guides the external light incident from the protective member to the detection surface.
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide body is fixed to the side surface together with the external light sensor and the flexible printed circuit board.
Further provided with a support member for supporting the light guide body,
The light guide body has a light receiving surface that receives the outside light, a light emitting surface that emits the outside light toward the detection surface, and a reflecting surface that reflects the light received by the light receiving surface toward the light emitting surface. And have
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the support member shields at least a part of a surface other than the light receiving surface, the reflecting surface, and the light emitting surface.
The display device according to claim 3, wherein the support member is integrally molded with the light guide body.
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has an outer shape smaller than the outer shape of the display unit in front view of the display unit.
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the detection surface is formed parallel to the side surface.