Display device

Abstract

Provided is a display device that can be assembled from efficient modules. A display device 10 comprises: a liquid crystal panel 3; a light-source substrate 6 on which a light source 6a for illuminating the liquid crystal panel 3 has been mounted; a light guide 4 which is positioned at the rear of the liquid crystal panel 3 and guides light emitted by the light source 6a to the liquid crystal panel 3; and a case 5 which accommodates the liquid crystal panel 3 and the light guide 4. The light guide 4 has a facing surface 4a that faces the liquid crystal panel 3 and a side surface 4b relative to the facing surface 4a, and receives light via the side surface 4b. The light-source substrate 6 is provided so that the light source 6a faces the side surface 4b.

Description

Display device

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a display device including a liquid crystal panel and a circuit board disposed with a space therebetween behind the liquid crystal panel, and illuminating the liquid crystal panel with a light source mounted on the circuit board.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-275799

[0004] In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, since there is a possibility that a relatively wide space is required behind the liquid crystal panel, there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of configuring the display device with an efficient module.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a display device that can be configured with an efficient module.

[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 the light emitted from the light source to the liquid crystal panel; and a case that houses the liquid crystal panel and the light guide. The light guide has a facing surface facing the liquid crystal panel and side surfaces with respect to the facing surface, and receives the light on the side surfaces. The light source substrate is provided such that the light source faces the side surfaces.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, a display device that can be configured with an efficient module can be provided.

[0008] Exploded perspective view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Perspective view of a main part of the display device according to the embodiment. Perspective view of a partial configuration of the display device according to the embodiment. Perspective view of a main part of a case, a light source substrate, and a circuit board according to the embodiment. Planar view of a display device according to a modification. Cross-sectional view taken along line I-I shown in FIG. 5 of the display device according to the modification.

[0009] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] The display device 10 shown in Figure 1 is configured, for example, as a vehicle instrument. In each figure, the X-axis extends horizontally, the Y-axis extends vertically, and the Z-axis extends front-to-back. Unless otherwise specified, the up / down, left / right, and front-to-back directions used below refer to the XYZ axes. Note 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 front to back, a cover glass 1, a gasket 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, and a housing 8. The light source 6a is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

[0012] The cover glass 1 is translucent, allowing the user to see through it and view the various information displayed on the liquid crystal panel 3. The packing 2 is formed from an elastic material in a frame shape and is sandwiched between the cover glass 1 and the liquid crystal panel 3. The liquid crystal panel 3 is illuminated by light from the light source 6a and displays various information such as vehicle speed information.

[0013] The light guide 4 is formed in a plate shape from a translucent synthetic resin and, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, has a facing surface 4a that faces the liquid crystal panel 3 and a side surface 4b relative to the facing surface 4a. The facing surface 4a is the surface that faces forward and is located behind the liquid crystal panel 3. The side surface 4b is the surface that faces downward and faces the light source substrate 6. Light from multiple 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 is emitted from the facing surface 4a to illuminate the liquid crystal panel 3.

[0014] Case 5 is formed in a box shape that opens towards the front and houses the liquid crystal panel 3 and the light guide 5. Case 5 is made of, for example, a white synthetic resin material. As shown in Figure 1, Case 5 has four wall portions 5a that surround the end face of the light guide 4. The four wall portions 5a form a rectangular frame when viewed from the front of Case 5.

[0015] Here, one of the four wall portions 5a, which corresponds to the light source substrate 6, will be referred to as the specific wall portion 5ap below. As shown in Figure 1, this specific wall portion 5ap is provided with multiple through holes 5b corresponding to multiple light sources 6a. This configuration allows light from multiple light sources 6a to be efficiently incident onto the light guide 4.

[0016] 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).

[0017] Furthermore, case 5 further includes a second elastic portion 5g having a second claw portion 5f, which is 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. And, 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.

[0018] The light source substrate 6 is a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) with an elongated shape in the left-right direction, and is provided 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. In addition, there are multiple light sources 6a mounted on the light source substrate 6, and they are arranged in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the light source substrate 6.

[0019] The light source substrate 6 is positioned vertically, facing the side surface 4b of the light guide 4. This ensures that the light source 6a faces the side surface 4b. In this way, the display device 10 can capture illumination light from the side surface 4b of the light guide 4, which is located directly behind the liquid crystal panel 3. Therefore, the space behind the liquid crystal panel 3 can be minimized. Consequently, the display device 10 can be constructed using efficient modules.

[0020] 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.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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 well-known fixing means.

[0023] (Modification) The display device 10 described above may also include an indicator display unit 9, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. 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 5, 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 6, the indicator display unit 9 includes an indicator light source 9a and a light box 9b. The indicator light source 9a is composed of an LED 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 by, for example, printing. The indicator display unit 9 displays information by the light emitted by this indicator.

[0024] In the above explanation, explanations of publicly known technical matters have been omitted where appropriate to facilitate understanding of this disclosure.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 10…Display device 1…Cover glass, 2…Gasket, 3…Liquid crystal panel 4…Light guide, 4a…Opposite surface, 4b…Side 5…Case 5a…Wall, 5ap…Specific wall 5b…Through hole, 5c…Groove 5d…First claw, 5e…First elastic part 5f…Second claw, 5g…Second elastic part 6…Light source substrate, 6a…Light source, 6b…Protruding part 7…Circuit board, 7a…Notch 8…Housing 9…Indicator display unit, 9a…Light source for indicator, 9b…Lightbox

Claims

1. A display device comprising: 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 the light emitted by the light source to the liquid crystal panel; and a case housing the liquid crystal panel and the light guide, wherein the light guide has a facing surface facing the liquid crystal panel and a side surface facing the facing surface, and the light is received by the side surface; and the light source substrate is provided such that the light source faces the side surface.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the case comprises a wall portion having a groove into which the front end of the light source substrate is fitted, and a first elastic portion having a first claw portion for fixing the rear end of the light source substrate.

3. The display device according to claim 2, further comprising a circuit board electrically connected to the light source substrate and located behind the case, wherein a notch is formed in the corner of the circuit board, and the first claw portion is located within the notch.

4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the light source substrate has an elongated shape in the left-right direction and has a protruding portion at its longitudinal end, and the first claw portion is locked to the lower end surface of the protruding portion.

5. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the case further comprises a second elastic portion having a second claw portion that engages with the circuit board, and the first elastic portion and the second elastic portion extend in the same direction.

6. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the light source substrate is elongated in the left-right direction, there are multiple light sources arranged in the longitudinal direction of the light source substrate, and the wall portion of the case is provided with multiple through holes corresponding to the multiple light sources.

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