Display panel structure

Abstract

The present invention provides a display panel structure that can suppress unwanted light leakage. [Solution] This display panel structure is a display panel structure 1 that forms part of the interior of a vehicle 1000, and comprises a substrate 10 on which a light source L is provided on one side surface 10u, and a panel material 20 provided on one side surface 10u of the substrate 10 so as to cover the substrate 10, and having a hole h through which light from the light source L passes, the panel material 20 has a rib 22 that extends from the peripheral edge of the hole h on one side surface 21d on the substrate 10 side to the peripheral edge of the light source L on the substrate 10.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a display panel structure.

Background Art

[0002] In front of the driver's seat of a vehicle, a display panel for air conditioning control and the like is provided together with the vehicle's steering wheel. By pressing an operation button arranged on this display panel, the driver can cause the vehicle to execute the function represented by the symbol mark described on the operation surface of the pressed operation button. For example, when the driver presses a ventilation button (an operation button having an operation surface on which a ventilation mark is described) on this display panel, the vehicle can be made to perform a ventilation operation. Also, usually, the operation surface of an operation button in an operating (active) state is lit.

[0003] Incidentally, Patent Document 1 describes a display panel structure constituting such a display panel. Specifically, the display panel structure described in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of chip LEDs provided on a printed circuit board, wall surfaces provided respectively around these chip LEDs, and a plurality of operation surfaces through which light from these chip LEDs passes respectively. And in this display panel structure, the light from the chip LED passes through the operation surface facing this chip LED, thereby causing the symbol mark on this operation surface to appear to float.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, the light from the chip LED passes not only through the operating surface facing the chip LED, but also through the operating surface adjacent to it, causing the symbol mark on the adjacent operating surface to also light up. Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 may cause the operating surface of an inactive operating button to light up due to this light leakage, potentially misleading the driver about the operating status of the vehicle.

[0006] Furthermore, in the display panel structure, the information display unit that displays the internal temperature of the vehicle cabin or the status of the air conditioning control, etc., is configured to irradiate the display surface with light from a backlight (e.g., a chip LED), and is configured so that the display surface is always lit as light from the backlight passes through the display surface regardless of whether the lighting in the vehicle cabin is turned ON or OFF. For this reason, if the structure of the operation button described in Patent Document 1 is applied to the information display unit, light from the backlight of the information display unit will constantly leak to the operation surface of the operation button, and there is a risk that the operation button will frequently light up even when it is inactive.

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a display panel structure that can suppress unwanted light leakage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve at least some of the aforementioned problems and can be realized in the following embodiments or application examples.

[0009] The display panel structure according to this application example is a display panel structure that forms part of the interior of a vehicle, comprising a substrate on which a light source is provided on one side, and a panel material provided on one side of the substrate so as to cover the substrate, and having a hole formed therein through which light from the light source passes, wherein the panel material has a rib formed thereon that extends from the peripheral edge of the hole on one side of the substrate to the peripheral edge of the light source on the substrate.

[0010] In this application example, since ribs are formed extending from the peripheral edge of the hole to the peripheral edge of the light source, the light emitted from the light source can be guided to the hole while being blocked by the ribs.

[0011] Therefore, according to this application example, it is possible to provide a display panel structure that can suppress unwanted light leakage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle interior equipped with one embodiment of the display panel structure according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a partially enlarged view showing a magnified plan view of the display panel structure shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the display panel structure shown along line AA. [Figure 4] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the display panel structure shown along line BB. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Next, an embodiment of the display panel structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 as appropriate.

[0014] The display panel structure 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4 is one embodiment of the display panel structure according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, it is installed in front of the driver's seat S in the passenger compartment R of the vehicle 100, to the right of the steering wheel H, so as to form part of the interior of the vehicle 100. The type of vehicle 100 shown in Figure 1 is not particularly limited, but for example, it is a large vehicle such as a large bus.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the display panel structure 1 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and an information display unit I and a plurality of operation buttons T are provided at the base 21 of the panel material 20. The base 21 of the panel material 20 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view. The plurality of operation buttons T are arranged in two rows, upper and lower, in the short direction (corresponding to the vehicle height direction) along the longitudinal direction (corresponding to the vehicle width direction) of the base 21 of the panel material 20. The information display unit I is provided in the center in the longitudinal direction, between the two operation buttons T in the upper row in the short direction.

[0016] Information display unit I is used to display the internal temperature of the vehicle compartment R, and in Figure 2, it shows that the internal temperature of the vehicle compartment R is 25.0°C. Information display unit I is configured to remain illuminated at all times, regardless of whether the lights in the vehicle compartment R are turned on or off.

[0017] Each operation button T is a button that causes the vehicle 100 to perform an operation related to the air conditioning control in the passenger compartment R, and is configured to switch ON / OFF when pressed by the driver. The operation buttons T are configured to light up when ON (i.e., active and in operation) and turn off when OFF (i.e., inactive and not in operation).

[0018] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the display panel structure 1 comprises a substrate 10, a panel material 20, and a film member 30 that covers the panel material 20.

[0019] The substrate 10 is a printed circuit board and is coated with a black resin material to suppress unwanted light leakage. A light source L capable of irradiating light is provided on one side surface 10u of the substrate 10.

[0020] The light source L is, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) chip. Although the light source L is preferably an LED because it is easy to miniaturize and has excellent durability and energy saving properties, it is not particularly limited to an LED as long as it can irradiate light. Further, a liquid crystal display C is attached to the vehicle interior side of the light source L. That is, the light source L is provided between the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal display C and serves as a backlight for the liquid crystal display C. The liquid crystal display C is configured to be communicable with an internal temperature sensor (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 100 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls each part of the vehicle 100, and is configured to display the temperature of the passenger compartment R measured by this internal temperature sensor.

[0021] The panel material 20 is composed of a base portion 21 and ribs 22. The base portion 21 is provided so as to cover the substrate 10 on the side of the surface 10u which is one side surface on the vehicle interior side of the substrate 10 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The back surface 21d which is one side surface on the vehicle exterior side of the base portion 21 faces the surface 10u which is one side surface of the substrate 10. A rectangular hole portion h through which light from the light source L passes is formed in the base portion 21. The hole portion h is a display surface portion formed in a shape and size capable of displaying information to the driver, and is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view so that the driver can easily recognize the temperature display (25.0 ° C) as shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] The rib 22 is formed in a square tube shape in plan view, and protrudes and extends outward from the peripheral portion of the hole portion h on the back surface 21d of the base portion 21 to the peripheral portion of the light source L provided on the substrate 10. The end surface (that is, the vehicle exterior end surface) in the protruding direction of the rib 22 abuts against the surface 10u of the substrate 10. The thickness of the rib 22 is preferably thinner than the thickness of the base portion 21 from the viewpoint of preventing an increase in the mass of the panel material 20 and suppressing the occurrence of sink marks in the panel material 20.

[0023] The base portion 21 and the rib 22 are preferably formed by molding (in-situ molding) a black resin material in order to suppress light leakage through the base portion 21 and the rib 22.

[0024] The film member 30 is provided so as to cover the hole h formed in the base portion 21, and is made of a light-transmitting material so that light from the light source L can pass through.

[0025] In this embodiment of the display panel structure 1, since a rib 22 is formed extending from the peripheral portion of the hole h to the peripheral portion of the light source L, the light irradiated from the light source L can be guided to the hole h while being blocked by the rib 22, thereby suppressing unwanted light leakage. Furthermore, the overall physical strength of the display panel structure 1 can be increased.

[0026] In particular, with the display panel structure 1, the end face (vehicle-side end face) of the rib 22 in the protruding direction is in contact with the surface 10u, which is one side of the substrate 10, so that the light irradiated from the light source L can be blocked by the rib 22 even more reliably. Furthermore, since the range that the driver can see through the hole h can be limited to the inside of the rib 22, it is possible to prevent a deterioration in the aesthetic appearance of the display panel structure 1 even if various devices are placed outside the rib 22.

[0027] This concludes the description of this embodiment, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this embodiment. For example, the display panel structure 1 of this embodiment includes a film member 30, but the display panel structure of the present invention only needs to have a hole h formed in the base 21 that allows light from the light source L to pass to the outside, and the material covering the hole h may be different from the film member.

[0028] Furthermore, in the display panel structure 1 of this embodiment, ribs 22 are formed on the peripheral edge of the hole h that constitutes the information display section I shown in Figure 2. However, in the display panel structure of the present invention, ribs may be formed on the peripheral edge of the hole (a hole formed in the base 21 of the panel material 20) that constitutes the operation button T shown in Figure 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Display Panel Structure 10 circuit boards 10u surface 20 Panel materials 21 Base 21d reverse side 22 Ribs 30 Film component 100 vehicles C LCD display h hole I Information display section L light source R cabin S Driver's seat T Operation Button

Claims

[Claim 1] A display panel structure that forms part of the interior of a vehicle, A substrate with a light source on one side, The panel material is provided on one side of the substrate so as to cover the substrate and has holes formed therein through which light from the light source passes, The panel material is a display panel structure in which a rib is formed on one side of the substrate side, extending from the peripheral edge of the hole to the peripheral edge of the light source on the substrate.

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