Indication device

Abstract

To provide a display device that can maintain product quality. [Solution] The display device comprises a liquid crystal panel 3, a light source substrate 6 on which a light source 6a for illuminating the liquid crystal panel 3 is mounted, a light guide 4 that guides the light emitted by the light source 6a to the liquid crystal panel 3, a case 5 that houses the liquid crystal panel 3 and the light guide 4, a circuit board 7 located behind the case 5, and a metal clip C that clamps the light source substrate 6 upright against the circuit board 7 and electrically connects the light source substrate 6 and the circuit board 7. The case 5 has a protective part 5i that covers the metal clip C.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display device. [Background Art]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a display device having a structure in which a light source element substrate is inserted into a conductive member (metal clip) provided on a surface of a circuit board, thereby fixing the light source element substrate to the circuit board. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-227076 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, there is a risk that metal powder generated by friction of the metal clip may scatter. For example, if the metal powder adversely affects the operation of the circuit board, the commercial value of the product will be degraded.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a display device capable of maintaining its commercial value. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] To achieve the above object, a display device according to the present disclosure includes: a liquid crystal panel; a light source substrate on which a light source for illuminating the liquid crystal panel is mounted; a light guide located behind the liquid crystal panel and guiding light emitted from the light source to the liquid crystal panel; a case that accommodates the liquid crystal panel and the light guide; a circuit board located behind the case; The light source substrate is held upright relative to the circuit board by a metal clip, and the light source substrate and the circuit board are electrically connected. The case has a protective portion that covers the metal clip. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, the marketability of the product can be maintained. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] An exploded perspective view of a display device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] A perspective view of the main part of the display device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 3] A perspective view of a partial configuration of the display device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 4] A perspective view of the main parts of the case, light source substrate, and circuit board according to the same embodiment. [Figure 5] A partial cross-sectional view of a display device according to the same embodiment, illustrating a convex support portion. [Figure 6] A partial cross-sectional view of a display device according to the same embodiment, illustrating a support portion provided on the case. [Figure 7] A partial cross-sectional view of a display device according to the same embodiment, mainly showing the protective part and the covering part. [Figure 8] A partial perspective view of the display device according to the same embodiment, mainly showing the protective part and the covering part. [Figure 9] A partial cross-sectional view of a display device according to the same embodiment, mainly showing an example of the configuration of the protective section. [Figure 10] Plan view of a modified display device. [Figure 11] A cross-sectional view of the display device according to a modified example, shown along line I-I in Figure 10. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] One embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] The display device 10 shown in Fig. 1 is configured, for example, as a vehicle instrument. In each figure, an X-axis extending in the left-right direction of the display device 10, a Y-axis extending in the up-down direction of the display device 10, and a Z-axis extending in the front-back direction of the display device 10 are shown. Unless otherwise specified, the up-down, left-right, and front-back directions used hereinafter follow the respective XYZ axes. It should be noted that the arrow indicating the X-axis points to the right, the arrow indicating the Y-axis points upward, and the arrow indicating the Z-axis points forward.

[0011] The display device 10 comprises, in order from the front to the rear, a cover glass 1, a packing 2, a liquid crystal panel 3, a light guide 4, a case 5, a light source substrate 6 on which a light source 6a is mounted, a circuit board 7, a metal clip C, and a housing 8. The light source 6a is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

[0012] The cover glass 1 has light-transmitting properties and covers the liquid crystal panel 3 from the front. The cover glass 1 allows a user to see through and visually recognize various types of information displayed on the liquid crystal panel 3.

[0013] The packing 2 is located between the cover glass 1 and the liquid crystal panel 3. The packing 2 is formed in a frame shape from an elastic material and is sandwiched between the cover glass 1 and the liquid crystal panel 3. When the cover glass 1 is fixed to the case 5, the packing 2 is compressed between the cover glass 1 and the liquid crystal panel 3. In Figs. 5, 6, and 11, the packing 2 is depicted as if overlapping the cover glass 1, but this merely shows the packing 2 before compression due to drawing constraints.

[0014] The liquid crystal panel 3 is illuminated by light from the light source 6a and displays various types of information such as vehicle speed information. The liquid crystal panel 3 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front (when viewed from the front).

[0015] The light guide 4 is formed into a plate shape from a light-transmitting synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, has an opposing surface 4a opposing the liquid crystal panel 3, and a side surface 4b with respect to the opposing surface 4a. The opposing surface 4a corresponds to a front surface of a main body portion 4c of the light guide 4 located behind the liquid crystal panel 3. The side surface 4b is connected to the main body portion 4c and corresponds to a lower surface of a portion opposing the light source substrate 6. Light from the plurality of light sources 6a arranged on the light source substrate 6 enters the side surface 4b and is guided into the interior of the light guide 4. The light guided into the interior of the light guide 4 exits from the opposing surface 4a to illuminate the liquid crystal panel 3.

[0016] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the light guide 4 further has convex support portions 4d protruding forward from the opposing surface 4a. A plurality of the convex support portions 4d are arranged at intervals in the X direction. The function of the convex support portions 4d will be described later.

[0017] The case 5 is formed into a box shape opening forward, and accommodates the liquid crystal panel 3 and the light guide 4. The case 5 is formed of, for example, a white synthetic resin material. As shown in FIG. 1, the case 5 has four wall portions 5a surrounding an end face of the light guide 4. The four wall portions 5a form a rectangular frame shape when the case 5 is viewed from the front.

[0018] Here, among the four wall portions 5a, the one wall portion 5a provided corresponding to the light source substrate 6 is referred to as a specific wall portion 5ap hereinafter. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of through holes 5b are provided in the specific wall portion 5ap corresponding to the plurality of light sources 6a. With this configuration, light from the plurality of light sources 6a can be made to enter the light guide 4 efficiently.

[0019] As shown in Figure 2, the specific wall portion 5ap has a groove 5c into which the front end of the light source substrate 6 is fitted. In addition to the wall portion 5a including the specific wall portion 5ap, the case 5 also includes a first elastic portion 5e having a first claw portion 5d for fixing the rear end of the light source substrate 6, as shown in Figure 4. This structure of the case 5 allows the light source substrate 6 to be held stably. The first elastic portion 5e has a restoring force generally in the X direction and is provided on both the left and right sides of the specific wall portion 5ap (only one of the first elastic portions 5e is shown in Figure 4).

[0020] Furthermore, case 5 further includes a second elastic portion 5g having a second claw portion 5f, provided on each of the four wall portions 5a that face each other in the left-right direction (only one of the second elastic portions 5g is shown in Figure 3). As shown in Figure 3, the second claw portion 5f is locked to the circuit board 7. The second elastic portion 5g also has a restoring force generally in the X direction. As can be seen by comparing Figures 3 and 4, the first elastic portion 5e and the second elastic portion 5g extend in the same direction (downward). This improves assembly workability.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, case 5 has support portions 5h on three of the four wall portions 5a, excluding the specific wall portion 5ap (Note that Figure 6 shows the portion corresponding to any one of the three wall portions 5a). The support portion 5h is formed in a stepped shape to support the outer edge of the liquid crystal panel 3. As mentioned above, the rectangular liquid crystal panel 3 has four outer edges corresponding to each of its four sides. Of these four outer edges, three are supported by the support portions 5h provided on case 5, and the remaining one is supported by the convex support portion 4d. As will be described later, in a configuration where the light source substrate 6 stands in the front-to-back direction, it is not easy to provide a configuration to support the liquid crystal panel 3 on the specific wall portion 5ap that is close to the light source substrate 6. However, the display device 10 can support one outer edge with the convex support portion 4d provided on the light guide 4, thus providing a structure that stably supports the liquid crystal panel 3.

[0022] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7 to 9, case 5 has a protective part 5i that covers the metal clip C and a covering part 5j that covers the front end of the light source substrate 6 from the front.

[0023] The protective section 5i is provided on the side of a specific wall section 5ap among the four wall sections 5a of the case 5. The protective section 5i is located between the cover section 5j and the circuit board 7. Specifically, as shown in Figure 9, the protective section 5i has an outer wall section 5i1 that runs along the outer edge of the circuit board 7, and an inner wall section 5i2 that faces the outer wall section 5i1 with the light source substrate 6 in between. The outer wall section 5i1 is formed in connection with the cover section 5i. The inner wall section 5i2 is formed using the part of the case 4 that supports the light guide 4.

[0024] By including the protective part 5i configured above, the display device 10 can suppress the scattering of metal powder generated by the friction of the metal clip C to the main part of the circuit board 7 or to the outside of the case 5, thereby maintaining marketability. Note that the protective part 5i does not need to cover (enclose) the entire outer circumference of the metal clip C. Furthermore, by including the covering part 5j, the display device 10 can effectively suppress the scattering of metal powder to the outside of the case 5.

[0025] The light source substrate 6 is a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) with an elongated shape in the left-right direction, and is installed behind the specific wall portion 5ap (wall portion 5a). Specifically, the light source substrate 6 is located between the specific wall portion 5ap (wall portion 5a) and the circuit board 7.

[0026] Multiple light sources 6a are mounted on the light source substrate 6 and are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction. This arrangement direction is the X direction, which is the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the light source substrate 6. Similarly, multiple convex support portions 4d are also arranged in the arrangement direction (X direction). Although not shown in detail, the positions of the multiple convex support portions 4d and the multiple light sources 6a are different in the arrangement direction (X direction). In other words, the multiple convex support portions 4d and the multiple light sources 6a are in positions that do not overlap in the Y direction. This prevents light emitted from each of the multiple light sources 6a and guided to the main body portion 4c of the light guide 4 from reaching the convex support portions 4d. In other words, it prevents the convex support portions 4d from unintentionally emitting light and causing uneven illumination by the light guide 4.

[0027] The light source substrate 6 is positioned in the front-to-back direction, facing the side 4b of the light guide 4. This ensures that the light source 6a faces the side 4b of the light source substrate 6. In this way, the display device 10 can capture illumination light from the side 4b of the light guide 4, which is located directly behind the liquid crystal panel 3, thus minimizing the space required behind the liquid crystal panel 3. Therefore, the display device 10 can be constructed using efficient modules.

[0028] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the light source substrate 6 has an overhang 6b at its longitudinal end. The first claw portion 5d is locked to the lower end surface of the overhang portion 6b. This hook mechanism using the first claw portion 5d allows the case 5 and the light source substrate 6 to be easily assembled.

[0029] The circuit board 7 is a PCB on which a controller that controls the operation of the display device 10 is mounted. The circuit board 7 is electrically connected to the light source board 6 and is located behind the case 5. As mentioned above, the first claw portion 5d fixes the rear end of the light source board 6, but as shown in Figure 4, a notch 7a is formed in the corner of the circuit board 7 corresponding to the first claw portion 5d (a missing portion is provided). The first claw portion 5d is located within the notch 7a. In this way, by providing a portion of the circuit board 7 that avoids the first claw portion 5d, the light source board 6 can be easily assembled to the case 5.

[0030] The metal clip C is fixed to the front of the circuit board 7. The metal clip C holds the light source substrate 6 upright relative to the circuit board 7, and electrically connects the light source substrate 6 and the circuit board 7.

[0031] The housing 8 is formed from, for example, a synthetic resin material and houses internal components such as the liquid crystal panel 3, light guide 4, case 5, light source substrate 6, and circuit board 7. The peripheral wall of the housing 8 and the peripheral edge of the cover glass 1 are fixed by known fixing means.

[0032] (modified version) The display device 10 described above may include an indicator display unit 9, as shown in Figures 10 and 11. The indicator display unit 9 emits light to display an indicator composed of characters, shapes, icons, or a combination thereof. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the indicator display unit 9 is provided above the area where the liquid crystal panel 3 displays information as an image. As shown in Figure 11, the indicator display unit 9 includes an indicator light source 9a and a light box 9b. The indicator light source 9a is composed of LEDs and is mounted on the circuit board 7. The light box 9b is a cylindrical part formed by a part of the case 5 and guides the light emitted by the indicator light source 9a to the cover glass 1. On the cover glass 1, an indicator is formed in the area illuminated by the light from the indicator light source 9a by a combination of a light-transmitting part and a light-blocking part formed, for example, by printing. The indicator display unit 9 displays information by the light emitted by this indicator.

[0033] In the above explanation, explanations of publicly known technical matters have been omitted where appropriate to facilitate understanding of this disclosure.

[0034] This invention allows for various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the invention. In other words, the scope of this invention is indicated not by the embodiments, but by the claims. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the equivalent scope of the meaning of the invention are considered to be within the scope of this invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 10…Display device 1...Cover glass, 2...Gasket, 3...LCD panel 4...Light guide, 4a...Opposing surface, 4b...Side surface, 4c...Main body part, 4d...Convex support part 5…case 5a...Wall part, 5ap...Specific wall part 5b...Through hole, 5c...Groove 5d...First claw portion, 5e...First elastic portion 5f...Second claw portion, 5g...Second elastic portion 5h...Support part 5i...Protective part, 5i1...Outer wall part, 5i2...Inner wall part 5j...covering part 6...Light source board, 6a...Light source, 6b...Protrusion part 7...Circuit board, 7a...Notch C... Metal clip 8... Cabinet 9...Indicator display unit, 9a...Light source for indicator, 9b...Lightbox

Claims

1. LCD panel and A light source substrate on which a light source for illuminating the aforementioned liquid crystal panel is mounted, A light guide is located behind the liquid crystal panel and guides the light emitted by the light source to the liquid crystal panel, A case housing the liquid crystal panel and the light guide, A circuit board located behind the aforementioned case, The light source substrate is held upright relative to the circuit board by a metal clip, and the light source substrate and the circuit board are electrically connected. The case has a protective part that covers the metal clip. Display device.

2. The case further has a covering portion that covers the front end of the light source substrate from the front, The protective portion is located between the cover portion and the circuit board. The display device according to claim 1.

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