Display device

Abstract

To effectively avoid deterioration in product quality, efficiently utilize a display area of a display unit and display vehicle information in a circular display region.SOLUTION: A display device includes: a display unit 2; a ring-shaped light-shielding unit 3 retained on the front side of the display unit 2, formed such that its inner diameter D is larger than the length DS of the short side of a display region AR of the display unit 2, and arranged so that the center of the display region AR of the display unit 2 substantially becomes the center of the inner circumference; and a light-emitting unit 4 formed between the display region AR of the display unit 2 and the inner circumference of the light-shielding unit 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, and can be applied to a display device that displays vehicle information, for example. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been proposed ideas relating to display devices that display vehicle information using an image display panel as a display unit (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-74821 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, if vehicle information can be displayed in a circular display area, it is believed that the visual impression of the display device can be improved. It is possible to form a ring-shaped light-shielding part and place it in front of the image display panel (display part). From the viewpoint of effective use of the image display panel, it is also possible to set the diameter of the inner circumference of the ring-shaped light-shielding part to be equal to the length of the long side of the display area of ​​the image display panel.

[0005] However, this causes parts of the image display panel other than the display area (for example, a metal frame (bezel) surrounding the display area) to be visible, which significantly reduces marketability. Although it is conceivable to further reduce the diameter of the inner circumference of the ring-shaped light blocking portion, in this case, there is a problem that the display area of ​​the image display panel cannot be effectively utilized. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and proposes a display device that effectively avoids a decline in merchantability while effectively utilizing the display area of ​​the display unit to display vehicle information using a circular-shaped display area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 comprises: A display unit; a ring-shaped light-shielding part that is held on the front side of the display part, that is formed so that the diameter of the inner circumference is larger than the length of the short side of the display area of ​​the display part, and that is disposed so that the center of the display area is approximately the center of the inner circumference; The display device includes a light-emitting portion formed between the display area and an inner periphery of the light-shielding portion.

[0007] The invention of claim 2 is, in the configuration of claim 1, The light-shielding portion includes a transparent cover that is disposed in a circular area defined by at least the inner periphery of the light-shielding portion and attenuates transmitted light.

[0008] The invention of claim 3 is, in the configuration of claim 1 or claim 2, The diameter of the inner periphery was set to the length of the long side of the display area. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, the light-emitting portion formed between the display area of ​​the display unit (image display panel) and the inner circumference of the light-shielding portion can prevent the viewing of areas other than the display area, thereby effectively avoiding a decrease in merchantability and effectively utilizing the display area of ​​the image display panel to display vehicle information in a circular display area.

[0010] According to the configuration of claim 2, the light-emitting portion and the transparent cover formed between the display area of ​​the image display panel and the inner periphery of the light-shielding portion can prevent the viewing of areas other than the display area. This effectively avoids a decrease in merchantability and effectively utilizes the display area of ​​the image display panel to display vehicle information in a circular display area.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the configuration of claim 3, the display area of ​​the image display panel can be used more effectively, effectively avoiding a decrease in merchantability, and vehicle information can be displayed in a circular display area. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the display device of FIG. 1 taken along line AA. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a plan view of a display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the display device taken along line AA of Fig. 1. The display device 1 is a display device that displays vehicle information in a vehicle. The display device 1 includes an image display panel 2 as a display unit, a light-shielding unit 3, a light-emitting unit 4, a transparent cover 5, a case 6, a wiring board 7, a light source 8, and a light guide 9.

[0014] Here, the image display panel 2 is configured, for example, by a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) liquid crystal display panel, but may also be configured by an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display panel, etc. The display device 1 displays vehicle information as images using this vertically arranged image display panel 2. In the example of Fig. 1, the vehicle's driving mode "ECO mode" and vehicle speed information, which is the vehicle's driving speed, are displayed.

[0015] The light-shielding portion 3 is configured as an annular light-shielding panel in which a black printed layer is applied, for example, to the entire back surface of a substantially ring-shaped light-transmitting member (the entire surface facing the image display panel 2) or the entire front surface of the substantially ring-shaped light-transmitting member (the outermost surface of the display device 1), and is provided to block the light emitted from the image display panel 2 and, in some cases, to display designs such as telltales, indicators, etc.

[0016] The light-shielding portion 3 is held (placed) on the front side of the image display panel 2, formed so that the diameter (opening width) D of the inner periphery is larger than the length DS of the short side of the display area AR of the image display panel 2, and placed so that the center (virtual center point) of the display area AR of the image display panel 2 is approximately the center of the inner periphery. In this case, the light-shielding portion 3 is configured as an opaque portion that covers and conceals the upper and lower sides (the four corners of the display area AR) of the vertically long image display panel 2.

[0017] More specifically, the diameter D of the inner periphery of the light blocking portion 3 is set to the length DL of the long side of the display area AR of the image display panel 2. In this case, as shown in Fig. 1, the display device 1 displays vehicle information by effectively utilizing the display area AR of the image display panel 2. A user viewing the display device 1 can view the vehicle information through the portion where the black printed layer is not formed.

[0018] The light-emitting unit 4 is a portion that displays vehicle information (predetermined information) by emitting light and blinking, and is formed in a space between the display area AR of the image display panel 2 and the inner circumference of the light-shielding unit 3. For example, the light-emitting unit 4 can be used as a notification display such as a left or right direction indication display by blinking green, or as a warning display that blinks red when a pedestrian or the like approaches from the right side of the vehicle (host vehicle).

[0019] Although detailed illustration is omitted here, the light-emitting unit 4 is located directly above a roughly frame-shaped metal frame that is provided on the periphery of the image display panel 2 so as to surround the display area AR. In other words, when attention is paid to the positional relationship between the light-emitting unit 4 and the metal frame, it can be said that the metal frame is covered by the light-emitting unit 4. Furthermore, a gap may be provided between the light-emitting unit 4 and the metal frame.

[0020] The transparent cover 5 is disposed in at least a circular region defined by the inner circumference of the light-shielding portion 3, and is made of, for example, a smoke material or the like to attenuate transmitted light (light representing an image emitted from the image display panel 2 and light emitted from the light-emitting portion 4), thereby making it impossible to see the inside of the display device 1 when the light-emitting portion 4 is not lit. Note that the transparent cover (semi-transparent portion) 5 provided to cover the image display panel 2 may be made of a transparent resin material, which is its base material, with smoke printing (a dark-colored printed layer) applied to the front or back surface.

[0021] In this manner, the display device 1 can prevent the viewing of any portion (e.g., the metal frame) other than the display area AR of the image display panel 2 by arranging the light-emitting portion 4 (and the transparent cover 5) formed between the display area AR of the image display panel 2 and the inner periphery of the light-shielding portion 3. This effectively avoids a decrease in merchantability, and makes it possible to effectively utilize the display area of ​​the image display panel to display vehicle information in a circular display area.

[0022] In particular, by setting the diameter D of the inner circumference of the shading portion 3 to the length DL of the long side of the display area AR of the image display panel 2, the display area of ​​the image display panel can be utilized more effectively, effectively avoiding a decrease in merchantability, and enabling vehicle information to be displayed in a circular display area.

[0023] The case 6 is formed by injection molding a resin material, and holds each component of the display device 1. The light source 8 is a light source that is one component of the light-emitting unit 4, and is composed of a light-emitting diode and mounted on the wiring board 7. The light sources 8 are arranged so as to light up and blink independently for each light-emitting unit 4. The light sources 8 may be configured to switch lighting colors like an RGB light source.

[0024] The light guide 9 is provided to guide the light emitted from the light source 8 (to the light emitting section 4), and is formed by injection molding using a transparent resin.

[0025] More specifically, the light source 8 is disposed outside the image display panel 2, and the light guide 9 is formed so as to extend above the light source 8, and then bend toward the center of the image display panel 2, and extend to the boundary of the display area AR of the image display panel 2.

[0026] The light guide 9 includes a light receiving section 9a that receives light from the light source 8, and a substantially flat light guide body section 9b that is located on the front side of the image display panel 2 and extends to the boundary of the display area AR, and the light introduced into the light guide 9 through the light receiving section 9a is reflected and guided toward the inside of the light guide body section 9b by an inclined reflecting surface 9c formed at the boundary between the light receiving section 9a and the light guide body section 9b. The surface of the light guide body section 9b may be textured (roughened) as necessary.

[0027] In the light-guiding main body 9b, a portion not covered by the light-shielding portion 3 is configured as the light-emitting portion 4. As a result, in the display device 1, the end of the light-emitting portion 4 on the display area AR side of the image display panel 2 is formed in a substantially straight line.

[0028] According to the above configuration, the light emitting portion 4 formed between the display area AR of the image display panel 2 and the inner periphery of the light blocking portion 3 (and the transparent cover 5) can prevent the viewing of areas other than the display area AR of the image display panel 2. This effectively avoids a decrease in merchantability, and makes it possible to effectively utilize the display area AR of the image display panel 2 to display vehicle information in a circular display area.

[0029] Furthermore, by configuring the light-emitting unit 4 with a light source 8 and a light guide 9 that guides the light emitted from the light source 8, the light-emitting unit can be configured with a specific configuration, which effectively avoids a decrease in merchantability and makes effective use of the display area of ​​the image display panel to display vehicle information in a circular display area.

[0030] Furthermore, by setting the diameter D of the inner circumference of the shading portion 3 to the length of the long side of the display area AR of the image display panel 2, the display area of ​​the image display panel can be utilized even more effectively, effectively avoiding a decrease in merchantability, and enabling vehicle information to be displayed in a circular display area.

[0031] Second Embodiment FIG. 3 is a plan view of a display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this display device 11, the end of the image display panel 2 on the display area AR side in the light-emitting section 14 is formed in a non-linear shape (arc shape), and the light-emitting section 14 is formed in an approximately crescent shape (irregular shape) so that the light-emitting section 14 partially covers and conceals the display area AR.

[0032] Even if the display area AR is partially covered by the light emitting section 14 as in this embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this display device 21, a light-shielding portion 23 is formed by printing black on a generally disc-shaped transparent plate material, and the inner periphery of the light-shielding portion 23 is further smoke-printed to form a transparent cover 25, thereby integrating the light-shielding portion 23 and the transparent cover 25. Note that the transparent member is not shown in Fig. 4, and the black-printed portion (light-shielding portion 23) and the smoke-printed portion (transparent cover 25) are formed on the back surface (or front surface) of the transparent member.

[0034] Even if the light blocking portion 23 and the transparent cover 25 are integrally formed as in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0035] Other Embodiments Although specific configurations suitable for carrying out the present invention have been described in detail above, the configurations of the above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1, 11, 21 Display device 2 Image display panel (display section) 3, 23 Light shielding part 4, 14 Light emitting part 5, 25 Transparent cover 6 Cases 7 Wiring board 8 light source 9 Light guide

Claims

1. A display unit; a ring-shaped light-shielding part disposed on the front side of the display part, formed so that the diameter of the inner circumference is larger than the length of the short side of the display area of ​​the display part, and disposed so that the center of the display area is approximately the center of the inner circumference; a light-emitting portion formed between the display area and an inner periphery of the light-shielding portion; Display device.

2. A transparent cover is provided in a circular region defined by at least the inner periphery of the light-shielding portion, and the transparent cover attenuates transmitted light. The display device according to claim 1.

3. The diameter of the inner circumference is set to the length of the long side of the display area.

3. The display device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images