Indicating device

Abstract

To provide a display device that serves as an actual item exhibition.SOLUTION: Such a display device includes: a cavity; a display panel; an object; and an illumination light source. The cavity has an opening. The display panel is installed overlapping with the opening. The object, a reflection type polarizer, and the illumination light source are installed inside the cavity. The reflection type polarizer is located between the object and the display panel. The display device according to the present invention has an effect in which uniformity of the light source illuminating the object is more excellent, and higher than luminance of the overall display panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a display device having a physical object display function.

Background Art

[0002] With the active development of display technologies, the diversification of applications in daily life has attracted wide attention. Among them, a product display cabinet or a household refrigerator equipped with a transparent display is a typical example that combines display technology and applications in daily life. Generally speaking, such a display cabinet or refrigerator is used as a space for placing objects, and it is necessary to provide a lighting light source around it to clearly show the appearance of the objects. However, in order to optimize the display effect of the objects, the installation position of the lighting light source may reduce the brightness and uniformity of the backlight of the transparent display, and vice versa. In addition, the lighting light source may also form a blind zone (dead angle) of lighting due to the placement position of the objects, which may also have an adverse effect on the display effect of the objects.

[0003] It should be noted that this "Background Art" section is only for helping to understand the content of the present invention, so the content disclosed in this "Background Art" section may include technologies not known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the content disclosed in this "Background Art" section does not mean that the content, or the problems to be solved by one or more embodiments of the present invention, were already well-known to those skilled in the art before the filing of the present invention.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a display device in which the uniformity of the light source for illuminating an object is better and the brightness of the entire display panel is higher.

[0005] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be further understood from the technical features disclosed in the present invention.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The display device of the present invention includes a cavity, a display panel, an object, and an illumination light source. The cavity has an opening. The display panel is installed so as to overlap the opening. The object, the reflective polarizer, and the illumination light source are installed in the cavity. The reflective polarizer is located between the object and the display panel.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] As described above, in the display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel is installed at the opening of the cavity, and an object and an illumination light source are further installed in the cavity. The illumination light source illuminates the object and is used as a backlight source for the display panel. By installing a reflective polarizer between the display panel and the object, the blind zone of the illumination of the illumination light source formed by the arrangement of the object can be effectively reduced, and the uniformity of the backlight of the display panel and the overall luminance can be improved. Further, from another perspective, by installing the reflective polarizer, the flexibility of the installation of the object in the cavity can be further enhanced.

[0008] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of examples.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] The above-mentioned and other technical contents, features, functions, and effects of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments based on the attached drawings. Note that terms regarding directions mentioned in the following embodiments, such as up, down, left, right, front, rear, etc., are only the directions of the attached drawings. Therefore, the terms of the directions used are only for explaining the present invention and are not for limiting the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a side view of the display device in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 10 includes a cavity 100, a display panel 110, an illumination light source 120, an object OBJ, and a reflective polarizer 130. The cavity 100 has an opening 100a and a storage space SP communicating with the opening 100a, and the illumination light source 120 and the object OBJ are installed in this storage space SP of the cavity 100. Note that the opening 100a of the cavity 100 can define the display area DA of the display device 10, and the display panel 110 is installed to overlap this display area DA (or the opening 100a), and the display panel 110 is installed, for example, on the side of the opening 100a of the cavity 100.

[0012] Specifically, a viewer (not shown) can stand on the side of the display device 10 where the display panel 110 is installed and view the object OBJ located in the cavity 100 through the display panel 110. Therefore, the display panel 110 is, for example, a transmissive liquid crystal panel, a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) display panel, or other appropriate transparent display panels.

[0013] In this embodiment, the illumination light source 120 is within the cavity 100 and is installed on the side opposite to the display panel 110, and the object OBJ is located between the display panel 110 and the illumination light source 120. Specifically speaking, the display panel 110 has a display surface DS, the illumination light source 120 has a light source emission surface 120s facing the object OBJ and the display panel 110, and the light source emission surface 120s of the illumination light source 120 may be parallel to the display surface DS of the display panel 110, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In this way, the light source emission surface 120s of the illumination light source 120 faces the display panel 110, and a backlight with higher brightness can be provided to the display panel 110.

[0014] For example, the illumination light source 120 may include a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) elements (not shown), and these LED elements can be arranged in an array on the light source emission surface 120s of the illumination light source 120, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the illumination light source 120 may be a light box, an assembly of a plurality of LED light bars, or a combination of an LED light bar and a light guide plate. In some embodiments, a micro light emitting diode (micro-LED) panel or a mini light emitting diode (mini-LED) panel can also be used as the illumination light source 120 of the display device.

[0015] In this embodiment, the object OBJ is, for example, an opaque (or non-transparent) pop-top can and is installed on the inner surface 100s1 that defines the accommodation space SP of the cavity 100. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the object OBJ may be a transparent or partially transparent product, such as a plastic bottle, a plastic box, a carton, a toy, etc. In the arrangement direction of the display panel 110, the object OBJ, and the illumination light source 120, the object OBJ partially overlaps with the display surface DS of the display panel 110 and the light source emission surface 120s of the illumination light source 120, or the projection area of the object OBJ on the light source emission surface 120s is smaller than the light source emission surface 120s. Note that the number of objects OBJ in this embodiment is merely illustrative, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the number of objects OBJ arranged in the display device may be adjusted according to the actual application needs.

[0016] Furthermore, the reflective polarizer 130 of the display device 10 is installed in the cavity 100 and is located between the object OBJ and the display panel 110. In this embodiment, the illumination light source 120 is used to emit a plurality of light beams LB. Some of the light beams LB are used to directly irradiate the object OBJ, and some other light beams LB are used to directly irradiate the reflective polarizer 130, but it is not limited thereto. The light beam LB is non-polarized or natural light. In other words, the light beam LB has a first polarization state P1 and a second polarization state P2, and the first polarization state P1 is orthogonal to the second polarization state P2.

[0017] In addition, the reflective polarizer 130 has a transmission axis T whose axial direction is parallel to the polarization direction of the first polarization state P1, and is used to reflect (or partially reflect) a light beam having the second polarization state P2. In order to maximize the light energy utilization rate of the illumination light source 120, the axial direction of the transmission axis T of the reflective polarizer 130 can be selectively made parallel to the axial direction of the transmission axis of a polarizer (not shown) on the side where the display panel 110 faces the reflective polarizer 130. By the stacked arrangement of the polarizer of the display panel 110 and the reflective polarizer 130 described above, the display quality (for example, contrast) of the display panel 110 can be maintained, and the illumination effect of the object OBJ can be further improved, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, when ignoring the influence on the display effect of the display panel 110 (for example, cost consideration), the reflective polarizer 130 can replace the polarizer on the side where the display panel 110 faces the illumination light source 120.

[0018] Specifically, in this embodiment, among the light beams LB directly irradiating the reflective polarizer 130, the light beam component having the first polarization state P1 passes through the reflective polarizer 130 to form a first sub-light beam LBa of linearly polarized light (first polarization state P1), and the other light beam component having the second polarization state P2 is reflected by the reflective polarizer 130 to form a second sub-light beam LBb of linearly polarized light (second polarization state P2), and can propagate to the surface of the object OBJ on the side facing away from the illumination light source 120. It should be noted that after irradiating the object OBJ, the second sub-light beam LBb can form a plurality of scattered light beams having an unpolarized state (for example, having the first polarization state P1 and the second polarization state P2 simultaneously). The scattered light beams here can form scattered sub-light beams having the first polarization state P1 (for example, scattered sub-light beam LBb1 and scattered sub-light beam LBb2) after passing through the reflective polarizer 130, and can reach the human eye after passing through the display panel 110. In addition, the scattered sub-light beam having the second polarization state P2 (not shown) formed after the scattered light beam is reflected by the reflective polarizer 130 can propagate again to the surface of the object OBJ on the side facing away from the illumination light source 120.

[0019] Note that since the illumination light source 120 in this embodiment is installed on the side of the opaque object OBJ away from the display panel 110, the side of the object OBJ facing away from the illumination light source 120 can form a blind zone BA of the illumination of the illumination light source 120 (i.e., a dead angle where the illumination light source 120 cannot directly illuminate). The reflective polarizer 130 installed between the display panel 110 and the object OBJ can reflect a part of the light beam LB directly irradiating the reflective polarizer 130 into this illumination blind zone BA. This leads to an improvement in the display effect (or display quality) of the object OBJ. In other words, by installing the reflective polarizer 130 on the side of the object OBJ close to the illumination blind zone BA, the illumination light beam can effectively cover the illumination blind zone BA formed by the arrangement of the illumination light source 120 with respect to the object OBJ, and the installation flexibility within the cavity 100 of the object OBJ can be improved. Further, the installation of the reflective polarizer 130 can reuse the light beam that could originally be absorbed by the polarizer on the side of the display panel 110 facing the reflective polarizer 130, so that the uniformity of the backlight and the overall brightness of the display panel 110 can be further improved.

[0020] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to several other embodiments. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same technical content is omitted. Also, for the omitted parts, since the foregoing embodiments can be referred to, they will not be described in detail below.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a side view of the display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a local area of the display device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a side view of the display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the difference between the display device 11 of this embodiment and the display device of FIG. 1 lies in the different configurations of the display devices. Specifically, the display device 11 further includes a backlight module 140 installed in the cavity 100A, and the backlight module 140 is located between the object OBJ and the display panel 110. In this embodiment, the backlight module 140 is installed between the display panel 110 and the reflective polarizer 130. That is, the reflective polarizer 130 is installed between the object OBJ and the backlight module 140. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the backlight module 140A of the display device 12 may be installed between the object OBJ and the reflective polarizer 130, that is, the reflective polarizer 130 is installed between the backlight module 140 and the display panel 110. In other words, some of the light beams emitted by the illumination light source 120 can also directly irradiate the light guide plate 142 of the backlight module 140A.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the backlight module 140 includes a light source 141 and a light guide plate 142. The light guide plate 142 has a light-emitting surface 142a facing the opening 100Aa of the cavity 100A and a light-incident surface 142b connected to the light-emitting surface 142a, and the light source 141 is installed on the side of the light-incident surface 142b of the light guide plate 142. For example, the light source 141 of the backlight module 140 is used to emit a light beam LB' facing the light-incident surface 142b of the light guide plate 142. This light beam LB' propagates in the light guide plate 142, exits through the light-emitting surface 142a of the light guide plate 142, and after passing through the display panel 110, exits from the display area DA' of the display device 11.

[0024] Refer to FIGS. 2 and 3 simultaneously. Further, the light guide plate 142 further includes a plurality of optical microstructures MS disposed on the bottom surface 142c to cause the light beam LB' to be uniformly emitted from the light exit surface 142a. For example, in one embodiment, the distribution of the plurality of optical microstructures MS gradually becomes denser in a direction away from the light incident surface 142b from the light incident surface 142b, wherein the bottom surface 142c is disposed opposite to the light exit surface 142a and connected to the light incident surface 142b. Note that in this embodiment, the installation of the backlight module 140 can further improve the uniformity of the backlight and the overall brightness of the display panel 110. Also, a part of the light beam (not shown) from the light source 141 can be emitted from the bottom surface 142c of the light guide plate 142 after passing through the light guide plate 142. This part of the light beam can also be used as the illumination light beam for the object OBJ after passing through the reflective polarizer 130. This leads to a further reduction in the illumination blind zone BA formed by the arrangement of the illumination source 120 with respect to the object OBJ.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a side view of the display device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the difference between the display device 13 of this embodiment and the display device 12 of FIG. 4 lies in the different arrangement methods of the illumination sources. In this embodiment, the cavity 100B defines an accommodation space SP and has inner surfaces 100s1 and 100s2 opposite to each other, wherein the object OBJ and the illumination source 120A are respectively disposed on the inner surface 100s1 and the inner surface 100s2 of the cavity 100B, and the extending direction of the light source light exit surface 120s of the illumination source 120A (for example, parallel to the inner surface 100s2) intersects the display surface DS of the display panel 110. Thereby, the illumination blind zone BA formed by the blocking of the illumination source 120 with respect to the object OBJ as shown in FIG. 4 can be effectively avoided.

[0026] In addition, since the backlight module 140A is installed between the reflective polarizer 130 and the object OBJ, the light beam LB’ propagating from the light source 141 via the light guide plate 142 forms a sub-light beam LB’a (transmission type) having a first polarization state P1 and a sub-light beam LB’b (reflection type) having a second polarization state P2 after propagating to the reflective polarizer 130. The sub-light beam LB’a having the first polarization state P1 exits from the display area DA’ of the display device 13 after passing through the reflective polarizer 130 and the display panel 110 (for example, the display device 13 displays a white screen, a transparent display, or a non-black screen), and the sub-light beam LB’b having the second polarization state P2 propagates toward the object OBJ or the inner surface (for example, the inner surface 100s1 or another inner surface 100s3 connected to the inner surface 100s1) on the side of the display panel 110 away from the cavity 100B after being reflected by the reflective polarizer 130. Thereby, compared with the display device 11 in FIG. 2, the display device 13 of this embodiment can provide better backlight uniformity to the display panel 110, and the display effect (or display quality) of the object OBJ is also better.

[0027] Since the action of the reflective polarizer 130 of this embodiment on the light beam LB from the illumination light source 120A is the same as that of the display device 10 in FIG. 1, for the detailed description of the propagation method of the light beam LB in the display device 13 and the resulting technical effects, reference can be made to the relevant paragraphs of the foregoing embodiments, and the detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a side view of the display device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the difference between the display device 14 of this embodiment and the display device 10 of FIG. 1 lies in the different configurations of the display devices. In this embodiment, the display device 14 further includes a substrate 150 and an antireflection film 160. The substrate 150 has opposing first and second surfaces 150a and 150b, and the reflective polarizer 130 and the antireflection film 160 are respectively installed on the first surface 150a and the second surface 150b of the substrate 150. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second surface 150b of the substrate 150 faces the illumination light source 120, and some of the light beams emitted by the illumination light source 120 can directly irradiate the antireflection film 160 on the substrate 150.

[0029] In addition, due to the installation of the substrate 150, the overall flatness of the reflective polarizer 130 can be improved, so that the problem of poor spectral efficiency caused by the warping of the film surface of the reflective polarizer 130 can be avoided. Further, by installing the antireflection film 160 on the second surface 150b of the substrate 150, the total reflection of the light beam on the second surface 150b of the substrate 150 can be effectively reduced, so that the double image phenomenon of the object OBJ formed by the substrate 150 can be eliminated. For example, the antireflection film 160 may be a single-layer or multi-layer stack of index matching layers, but is not limited thereto.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a side view of the display device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the difference between the display device 15 of the present embodiment and the display device 13 of FIG. 5 lies in the different configurations of the display devices. Specifically, the display device 15 further includes a reflective sheet 170, which is installed on at least one inner surface of the cavity 100B facing the object OB. In the present embodiment, the reflective sheet 170 can cover the inner surface 100s1 and the inner surface 100s3 of the cavity 100B. Note that the reflective sheet 170 may further cover two inner surfaces (not shown) connected to the inner surface 100s1 and the inner surface 100s3 of the cavity 100B, and these two inner surfaces are respectively located on both opposite sides of the inner surface 100s1 and the inner surface 100s3. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the reflective sheet 170 may further cover the inner surface 100s2 of the cavity 100B where the illumination light source 120A is installed, particularly the portion not shielded by the illumination light source 120A.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the reflective sheet 170 may be, for example, a white reflective sheet or a silver reflective sheet, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, a reflective material may be directly applied as a reflective sheet on the inner surface of the cavity. In another embodiment, the cavity of the display device may also be made of a material with a high reflectivity to achieve a technical effect similar to that of the reflective sheet 170.

[0032] Note that the reflective polarizer 130 can also be integrated into the backlight module 140. For example, the reflective polarizer 130 can be directly installed on the light guide plate 142. Therefore, even when the substrate 150 of FIG. 6 is not installed in the display device, the overall flatness of the reflective polarizer 130 can be increased, so that the problem of poor spectral efficiency of the reflective polarizer 130 caused by the warping of the film surface can be avoided.

[0033] From the above, in the display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel is installed at the opening of the cavity, and an object and a lighting light source are further installed in the cavity. The lighting light source illuminates the object and is used as a backlight source of the display panel. By installing a reflective polarizer between the display panel and the object, the blind zone of the illumination of the lighting light source formed by the arrangement of the object can be effectively reduced, and the uniformity of the backlight of the display panel and the overall luminance can be improved. Also, from another perspective, by installing the reflective polarizer, the flexibility of the installation of the object in the cavity can be further enhanced.

[0034] The present invention has been disclosed as above based on the foregoing preferred embodiments. However, the foregoing preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make minor changes and refinements to the present invention without departing from the technical idea and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is based on what is defined in the appended claims. Also, any embodiment or claim of the present invention does not need to achieve all the objects, advantages, or features disclosed in the present invention. Also, a part of the abstract and the title of the invention are only for assisting in document search and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Also, terms such as "first" and "second" mentioned in this specification or claims are only for naming elements or for distinguishing other embodiments or scopes, and are not for limiting the upper or lower limits in terms of the number of elements.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0035] 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15: Display device 100, 100A, 100B: Cavity 100a, 100Aa: Opening 100s1, 100s2, 100s3: Inner surface 110: Display panel 120, 120A, 120B: Lighting light source 120s: Light source light-emitting surface 130: Reflective polarizer 140, 140A: Backlight module 141: Light source 142: Light guide plate 142a: Light emitting surface 142b: Light incident surface 142c: Bottom surface 150: Substrate 150a: First surface 150b: Second surface 160: Anti-reflection film 170: Reflective sheet BA: Blind zone of illumination DA, DA’: Display area DS: Display surface LB, LB’: Light beam LBa: First sub-light beam LBb: Second sub-light beam LBb1, LBb2: Scattered sub-light beams LB’a, LB’b: Sub-light beams MS: Optical microstructure OBJ: Object P1: First polarization state P2: Second polarization state SP: Accommodation space T: Transmission axis

Claims

1. A display device including a cavity, a display panel, an object, a reflective polarizer, and an illumination light source, wherein the cavity has an opening, the display panel is installed to overlap the opening, the object is installed in the cavity, the reflective polarizer is installed in the cavity and is located between the object and the display panel, the illumination light source is installed in the cavity, the display device further includes a backlight module installed in the cavity and located between the display panel and the object, the backlight module includes a light guide plate having a light emitting surface facing the opening and a light incident surface connected to the light emitting surface; and a light source installed on the side of the light incident surface of the light guide plate, wherein the reflective polarizer is installed between the light guide plate and the object.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the light beam from the illumination light source is used to directly irradiate the object, and another part of the light beam from the illumination light source is used to directly irradiate the reflective polarizer.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination light source is used to emit a light beam facing the reflective polarizer, the light beam has a first polarization state and a second polarization state, the first polarization state is orthogonal to the second polarization state, the reflective polarizer has a transmission axis whose axial direction is parallel to the polarization direction of the first polarization state, and is used to reflect the light beam having the second polarization state.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide plate further has a plurality of optical microstructures installed on the bottom surface, and the bottom surface is installed opposite to the light emitting surface and connected to the light incident surface.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel has a display surface, the illumination light source has a light source light emitting surface facing the object, and the light source light emitting surface of the illumination light source intersects the display surface of the display panel.

6. A display device including a cavity, a display panel, an object, a reflective polarizer, and an illumination light source, wherein the cavity has an opening, the display panel is installed to overlap the opening, the object is installed in the cavity, The reflective polarizer is installed in the cavity, and the reflective polarizer is located between the object and the display panel. The illumination light source is installed in the cavity. The display panel has a display surface, the illumination light source has a light source emission surface facing the object, and the light source emission surface of the illumination light source is parallel to the display surface of the display panel. A display device.

7. A display device including a cavity, a display panel, an object, a reflective polarizer, and an illumination light source, The cavity has an opening. The display panel is installed to overlap the opening. The object is installed in the cavity. The reflective polarizer is installed in the cavity, and the reflective polarizer is located between the object and the display panel. The illumination light source is installed in the cavity. The display device further includes a substrate and an antireflection film. The substrate has opposite first and second surfaces, and the reflective polarizer is set on the first surface of the substrate. The antireflection film is installed on the second surface of the substrate. A display device.

8. The display device according to claim 1, 6 or 7, further including a reflective sheet installed on at least one inner surface of the cavity facing the object. A display device.

9. The display device according to claim 6 or 7, further including a backlight module installed in the cavity and located between the display panel and the object. The backlight module includes a light guide plate having a light emission surface facing the opening and a light incident surface connected to the light emission surface; and a light source installed on the side of the light incident surface of the light guide plate. A display device.

10. The display device according to claim 9, wherein the reflective polarizer is installed between the light guide plate and the display panel. A display device.

Images