DISPLAY DEVICE

Abstract

A display device including a display module and a cover is provided, wherein the display module includes a frame and a panel module. The cover includes a hinge module, and the hinge module includes a bracket and a pivotal portion. The bracket is fixed to the inner side of the cover. The pivotal portion is mounted to the bracket and pivotally connected to a hinge. By gluing the bracket to the cover, the hinge module can effectively reduce the thickness of the display module to achieve the goal of thinning.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/359,811, filed on Jun. 29, 2010, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a display device.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, owing to the rapid development of the electronics industry and the information industry, the related products are also increasingly sophisticated. For the current personal computers, in addition to seek more rapid and more powerful computing units and a wide range of peripheral equipments to meet user needs, the compact sized portable computers are also the key area of development of the industries.

For example, liquid crystal displays have advantages such as high definition, small size, light weight, low driving voltage, low power consumption, and wide range of applications, so they can be widely applied in portable televisions, mobile phones, camcorders, notebook computers, desktop monitors, and other consumer electronics products and become the mainstream of the displays.

A display device applied in a notebook computer mainly includes a cover and a display module. The display module includes a first side and a second side, wherein the first side includes a display region and the second side is adjacent to or mounted to the cover. With different designs of products, the cover not only can be made of plastic and formed to be thin shell by injection molding but also can be made of metal (such as aluminum) and formed to be thin shell by stamping. The display module thus can be mounted with the cover to form the display device. Besides, in order to mount the display device to the base, the display device can include a hinge.

Generally, the hinge is pivotally connected to the hinge module on the cover. The hinge module is commonly mounted to the cover by fastening with screws. The hinge module not only can be used to be pivotally connected to the hinge but also can be used to mount and support the display module. In other words, the display module and the cover can be mounted to each other by fastening the hinge module to the sidewall of the display module.

However, because the hinge module is fastened to the cover by screws, the thickness of the whole display device cannot be decreased. In addition, because the hinge module is fastened to the sidewall of the display module, the hinge module must be substantially perpendicular to the cover, which also makes the thickness of the display device hardly to be decreased.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the problems of prior arts, the invention makes a panel module and a frame to be fixed to each other to form a display module, so the frame is the only structure that supports the frame. Finally, a cover is mounted to the frame to form a display device. The cover includes a hinge module, and the hinge module can be fixed to the cover and connects a hinge, so that the hinge can connect the display device and a host housing to each other. Because the hinge module is fixed to the cover, the thickness of the display device can be greatly reduced, and the mounting strength of the display device against the rotation of the hinge can be maintained. The display module is also mounted to the cover without screws, so the cover does not need to provide space to be fastened by screws so as to have a thinner thickness and the display module does not need to be formed screw holes so as to have a larger display region.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a hinge module is applied in a display device. The hinge module includes a bracket and a pivotal portion. The bracket is fixed to a cover by glue. The pivotal portion is mounted to the bracket for mounting a hinge.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a display device includes a frame, a panel module, and a cover. The panel module includes a first side and a second side. The panel module is fixed on the frame to form a display module. The cover is mounted to the frame and adjacent to the second side to form the display device, wherein the frame and the cover provide support to the panel module. The cover includes a hinge module, and the hinge module includes a bracket and a pivotal portion. The bracket is fixed to a cover by glue. The pivotal portion is mounted to the bracket for mounting a hinge.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing cover has four rims, and the length of the bracket is longer than half the length of one of the rims.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing cover further includes a reinforcing plate, and the reinforcing plate is substantially perpendicular to the bracket.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing reinforcing plate contacts the bracket or is integrally formed with the bracket.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing hinge is used to pivotally connect a host housing, so as to make the display device to rotate. relative to the host housing.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing pivotal portion and the bracket are mounted to each other by a fixed method, wherein the fixed method is a thermal binding method, a screw fastening method, or a riveting method.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing hinge is mounted to the pivotal portion by a screw fastening method.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing glue includes epoxy.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing bracket is plate-shaped, and a range of the thickness of the bracket is about 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing display device includes a display module that has backlight, and the display module includes the frame and the panel module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing panel module includes a glass module and a backlight module, and the frame includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing glass module is fixed to the first supporting portion along a direction, and the backlight module is fixed to the second supporting portion along the direction, wherein the direction is the normal vector of the display region.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing first supporting portion is located on the frame at a position outside that of the second supporting portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing first side and the second side of the panel module are two planes in parallel with each other.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing glass module includes a first glass plate and a second glass plate, and the glass module includes a liquid crystal layer between the first glass plate and the second glass plate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing display device includes a display module that does not have backlight, and the display module includes the frame and the panel module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing panel module includes a glass module, and the frame includes a supporting portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing glass module is fixed to the supporting portion. The glass module includes a first glass plate and a second glass plate, and the glass module includes an organic light-emitting layer between the first glass plate and the second glass plate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing cover includes a first fixing portion, and the frame includes a second fixing portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion are engaged to each other, the cover is mounted to the frame.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing display device further includes a decorative frame. The decorative frame is located at the periphery of the panel module for protecting the panel module.

In an embodiment of the invention, after the cover is mounted to the frame, the sidewall of the cover covers the sidewall of the frame to avoid light leakage of the display device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing bracket does not contact the second side of the panel module.

In an embodiment of the invention, a width of the foregoing bracket is directly proportional to a desired torque of the hinge.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing width of the bracket is approximately longer than 25 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the foregoing width of the bracket is the width of the end of the bracket that is adjacent to the hinge.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a display device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a back view showing the display device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the display device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial and sectional view showing the display device in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a stereoscopic view showing the cover of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a display device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a back view showing the display device. in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the display device in FIG. 1. The structures of the invention can be applied to a display device that has backlight or a display device that does not have backlight (i.e., the display device that actively emits light). The display device that has backlight can be a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) device. The display device that does not have backlight can be an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) device. Although the following embodiment of the structures of the invention is applied to a display device that has backlight, but the scopes of the invention will not be limited thereby. Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the display device 100 of the first embodiment includes a cover 110, a frame 120, and a panel module, wherein the panel module includes a glass module 130 and a backlight module 140. The frame 120 can be mounted to the cover 110, and the panel module can be fixed to the frame 120 along a direction to form a display module. The direction is the normal vector of the display region 132 on the display module. When the display device 100 is a display device that has backlight, the display module is a display module that has backlight. The display device 100 in the embodiment can be applied in a notebook computer, and the display device 100 can be pivotally connected to a host (not shown) of the notebook computer with the hinge 110a illustrated in FIG. 3. In other embodiments, the display device 100 can be applied to electronic devices such as a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a television, and etc.

Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a partial and sectional view showing the display device in FIG. 1. The cover 110 of the embodiment has a base plate 112 and a sidewall 114. A supporting member of the frame 120 is protruded inward, and the supporting member includes a first supporting portion 122 and a second supporting portion 124. The first end 122a of the first supporting portion 122 is engaged to the sidewall 114 of the cover 110. The second supporting portion 124 is connected to the second end 122b of the first supporting portion 122 and leans or does not lean the base plate 112 of the cover 110 depending on the needs of product design. The glass module 130 is fixed to the first supporting portion 122 along a direction, and the backlight module 140 is disposed between the glass module 130 and the base plate 112 and fixed to the second supporting portion 124 along the same direction, wherein the direction along that the glass module 130 and the backlight module 140 are fixed to the frame 120 is the normal vector of the display region 132 on the display module. With the needs of product design, the first supporting portion 122 is located on the frame 120 at a position outside that of the second supporting portion 124, so the light can be totally transmitted to the glass module 130 from the backlight module 140. An opening can be formed at the center of the frame 120, and the light generated by the backlight module 140 can be transmitted to the glass module 130 via the opening so as to increase the brightness of the display region 132. When the panel module is fixed to the frame 120, the frame 120 can surround the periphery of the panel module, and the panel module must cover the opening to increase the brightness of the display region 132. With the needs of product design, the frame 120 can further include a retaining portion 126 for preventing the glass module 130 from leaving the first supporting portion 122 and for protecting the glass module 130. If the frame 120 does not include the retaining portion 126, the invention can further include a decorative frame 190 illustrated in FIG. 3. The decorative frame 190 is located at the periphery of the glass module 130 and engaged to the frame 120 or the cover 110 to protect the glass plates of the glass module 130 from breakage while being impacted. The glass module 130 includes a first side and a second side. The first side of the glass module 130 includes the display region 132 and is used to contact the retaining portion 126 or the decorative frame 190. The second side of the glass module 130 contacts or is fixed to the backlight module 140. The panel module also includes a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the panel module is the first side of the glass module 130 and includes the display region 132. The second side of the panel module is fixed to the frame 120, so as to combine the panel module and the frame 120 to form the display module. The first side and the second side of the panel module are two planes in parallel with each other.

Under the configurations that the frame 120 has the retaining portion 126, the glass module 130 and the backlight module 140 of the panel module are both fixed to the frame 120, the frame 120 is engaged to the cover 110, and the glass module 130 is retained by the retaining portion 126, the assembly of the display module can be accomplished. Because the display module is mounted to the cover 110 without screws, the cover 110 does not need to provide space to be fastened by screws so as to have a thinner thickness and the display module does not need to be formed screw holes so as to have a larger display region 132 (as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3). When the glass module 130 and the backlight module 140 of the panel module are just fixed to the frame 120 to form the display module, the frame 120 is the only structure that provides support. Thereby, the display module and the cover 110 can be combined to each other to form the display device 100 with the assistance of the support of the frame 120.

In the embodiment, the first supporting portion 122 and the second supporting portion 124 can be made of plastics that have buffering effect, so as to provide support to the glass module 130 and the backlight module 140. The retaining portion 126 can be made of rubber and integrally formed with the first supporting portion 122 and the second supporting portion 124 by co-injection molding. The cover 110 of the embodiment can be made of metals such as aluminum or other proper metals. But the invention will not be limited thereby. In other embodiments, the cover 110 can also be made of plastics and have integrally formed reinforcing ribs or metal members for improving structural strength.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first supporting portion 122 of the embodiment has a first supporting surface 122c, and the second supporting portion 124 has a second supporting surface 124a. The distance between the first supporting surface 122c and the base plate 112 is longer than that between the second supporting surface 124a and the base plate 112. The orthogonal projection of the peripheral part 134 of the glass module 130 on the base plate 112 and that of the backlight module 140 on the base plate 112 do not overlapped to each other. Therefore, the glass module 130 and the backlight module 140 that are stacked to each other are respectively fixed to the first supporting surface 122c and the second supporting surface 124a, wherein the glass module 130 is fixed to the first supporting surface 122c with the peripheral part 134, and the glue applied between the panel module and the frame 120 includes epoxy.

Besides, the sidewall 114 of the cover 110 has a first fixing portion 114a, the first supporting portion 122 on the frame 120 has a second fixing portion 122d, and the cover 110 can be mounted to the frame 120 by making the first fixing portion 114a and the second fixing portion 122d to be engaged to each other. After the cover 110 is mounted to the frame 120 to form the display device 100, the position of the cover 110 is adjacent to the second side of the panel module, and the cover 110 and the frame 120 both provide support to the panel module so as to improve the structural strength of the display module. After the cover 110 is mounted to the frame 120, the sidewall 114 of the cover 110 will cover the sidewall of the frame 120 to avoid light leakage of the display device.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the display device 100 that has backlight is a liquid crystal display device, the glass module 130 of the first embodiment includes a first glass plate 136, a liquid crystal layer 137, and a second glass plate 138. The first glass plate 136 is located at the second side of the panel module and fixed to the first supporting portion 122, and the liquid crystal layer 137 is disposed between the first glass plate 136 and the second glass plate 138. The second glass plate 138 is located at the first side of the panel module for contacting the retaining portion 126 or the decorative frame 190. The first glass plate 136 and the second glass plate 138 can be made of transparent materials with high strength, so as to protect the liquid crystal layer 137 and make the light emitted by the backlight module 140 suitable to be transmitted to the liquid crystal layer 137 through the first glass plate 136. Finally, after the liquid crystal layer 137 processes the light, users can watch the images displayed by the display module through the second glass plate 138.

As shown in FIG. 5 which is a stereoscopic view showing the cover of the invention. The cover 110 of the invention can further include a hinge module 106. The hinge module 106 mainly includes a bracket 106a and a pivotal portion 106b. The bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 can be fixed to the inner surface of the cover 110 by glue 2, wherein the inner side of the cover 110 is adjacent to the second side of the display module and the glue 2 includes epoxy. The pivotal portion 106b of the hinge module 106 can be connected to the bracket 106a. The hinge 108 can be pivotally connected to the pivotal portion 106b. Therefore, the hinge 108 can be mounted to the cover 110 by the hinge module 106 that is fixed to the cover 110. With different designs of products, the pivotal portion 106b and the bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 can be mounted to each other by a fixed method, which is a thermal binding method, a screw fastening method, or a riveting method, so as to make the pivotal portion 106b able to pivotally connect the hinge 108. In order to provide enough mounting strength to the hinge 108 when the hinge 108 is forced in operation, the pivotal portion 106b and the hinge 108 are generally connected to each other by the screw fastening method. Generally, the bracket 106a is adjacent to but does not contact the second side of the panel module, so as to prevent the display device from the defeat of white spots after being assembled.

It can be seen that because the hinge module 106 is mounted to the cover 110 by gluing the bracket 106a to the cover 110, the thickness of the hinge module 106 in the display device 100 (i.e., the space between the cover 110 and the display module) is equal to the thickness of the bracket 106a. The length of screws that are applied to mount the hinge module 106 to cover 110 in prior arts is about 4 mm, so the thickness of the display devices in the prior arts cannot be reduced effectively. Relatively, the bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 of the embodiment is plate-shaped, and a range of the thickness of the bracket 106a is only 0.8 mm-1.0 mm. Therefore, the bracket 106a that is fixed to the cover 110 will not influence the whole strength of the display device 100 and can easily reduce the thickness of the display device 100.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cover 110 of the display device 100 of the embodiment can further include four rims 100a, and the rims 100a can be classified to be two pairs and surround the cover 110. Generally, the two pairs of the rims 100a can be classified into long rims and short rims, and each pair of the rims 100a are parallel to each other. The bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 can be substantially parallel to the rims 100a, and the rims 100a are generally, but not limited to, the short rims and can be elastically changed according to the requirements of designing or limitations of manufacturing. Because the hinge module 106 of the embodiment is not mounted to the cover 110 by the screw fastening method, the length of the bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 can be longer than half the length of one of the rims 100a so as to increase the mounting stability between the hinge module 106 and the cover 110. In other words, if the length of the bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 becomes longer, the gluing area and range between the bracket 106a and the cover 110 relatively increase, and thus the mounting stability between the bracket 106a and the cover 110 can be increased. When the cover 110 is forced, the force can be transmitted to the hinge 108 via the bracket 106a and the pivotal portion 106b, so that the hinge 108 can rotate together with the cover 110 relative to an object. So, the width of the portion of the bracket 106a that is adjacent to the hinge 108 is very important. Because the portion of the bracket 106a is the interface via which the force is transmitted from the cover 110 to the hinge 108, the portion of the bracket 106a bears larger force than other portions. If the width of the portion of the bracket 106a is longer, the mounting capability of the bracket 106a is also larger, so as to prevent the defeat that the hinge module 106 separates from the cover 110 during the operation of the hinge 108. Generally, the width of the bracket 106a is directly proportional to a desired torque of the hinge 108 and the width of the bracket is approximately longer than 25 mm, wherein the width of the bracket 106a is the width of the end of the bracket that is adjacent to the hinge 108. The desired torque of the hinge 108 is the minimum force that the hinge 108 is necessarily loaded during operation.

The cover 110 of the embodiment further includes a reinforcing plate 110a. The reinforcing plate 110a of the cover 110 can be fixed to the inner side of the cover 110, just like the hinge module 106 does. The reinforcing plate 110a can be substantially perpendicular to the bracket 106a, but the configuration between the reinforcing plate 110a and the bracket 106a is not limited to this and can be elastically changed according to the requirements of designing or limitations of manufacturing. In order to increase the whole stiffness of the display device 100, the reinforcing plate 110a of the display device 100 and the bracket 106a of the hinge module 106 can also be connected to each other. In other words, the reinforcing plate 110a and the bracket 106a can be integrally formed according to the requirements of product design and then fixed to the inner side of the cover 110 to reinforce the strength of the cover 110. In order to take the weight of the display device 100 into consideration, the reinforcing plate 110a that is fixed to the cover 110 can be, but not limited to, made from an aluminum plate of which the thickness is 0.6 mm.

When the electronic device has a host housing, the display device 100 of the invention can be connected to the host housing by the hinge 108, so as to make the display device 100 to rotate relative to the host housing. When the display device 100 covers on the host housing, the reinforcing plate 100a on the cover 110 of the display device 100 will correspond to the palm raise of the host housing, so as to increase the supporting strength between the display device 100 and the host housing and prevent the display device 100 or the host housing from being damaged because users press improper locations.

In another embodiment of the invention, the structures of the invention are applied to a display device that does not have backlight. The biggest difference between the embodiment and the former embodiment is that the display device of the embodiment can achieve the effect of evenly emitting light without the backlight module. If the display device that does not have backlight is an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display device, the organic light-emitting layer is generally packaged in the glass module 130 in FIG. 4 to substitute for the liquid crystal layer 137. Therefore, the panel module only includes the glass module 130, and the supporting member on the frame 120 can support the panel module just by one supporting portion. When the panel module is fixed to the supporting portion of the frame 120, the frame 120 will be the only one structure that supports the panel module.

According to the foregoing recitations of the embodiments of the invention, it can be seen that the invention make a panel module and a frame to be fixed to each other to form a display module, so the frame is the only structure that supports the frame. Finally, a cover is mounted to the frame to form a display device. The cover includes a hinge module, and the hinge module can be fixed to the cover and connects a hinge, so that the hinge can connect the display device and a host housing to each other. Because the hinge module is fixed to the cover, the thickness of the display device can be greatly reduced, and the mounting strength of the display device against the rotation of the hinge can be maintained. The display module is also mounted to the cover without screws, so the cover does not need to provide space to be fastened by screws so as to have a thinner thickness and the display module does not need to be formed screw holes so as to have a larger display region.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A hinge module being applied in a display device, the hinge module comprising:

a bracket being fixed to a cover by a glue; and

a pivotal portion being mounted to the bracket for mounting a hinge.

2. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein the cover has four rims, and the length of the bracket is longer than half the length of one of the rims.

3. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein the cover further comprises a reinforcing plate and the reinforcing plate is substantially perpendicular to the bracket, wherein the reinforcing plate contacts the bracket or is integrally formed with the bracket.

4. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein the hinge is used to pivotally connect a host housing, so as to make the display device to rotate relative to the host housing, wherein the hinge is mounted to the pivotal portion by a screw fastening method.

5. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein the pivotal portion and the bracket are mounted to each other by a fixed method, wherein the fixed method is a thermal binding method, a screw fastening method, or a riveting method.

6. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein the bracket is plate-shaped, and a range of the thickness of the bracket is about 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm.

7. The hinge module of claim 1, wherein a width of the bracket is directly proportional to a desired torque of the hinge and a width of the bracket is approximately longer than 25 mm.

8. The hinge module of claim 7, wherein the width of the bracket is the width of the end of the bracket that is adjacent to the hinge.

9. A display device comprising:

a frame;

a panel module comprising a first side and a second side, the second side being fixed to the frame, the first side comprising a display region; and

a cover being mounted to the frame and adjacent to the second side to form the display device, wherein the frame and the cover provide support to the panel module, the cover comprises a hinge module, and the hinge module comprises: a bracket being fixed to a cover by a glue; and a pivotal portion being mounted to the bracket for mounting a hinge.

10. The display device of claim 9, comprising a display module that has backlight, and the display module comprising the frame and the panel module, wherein the panel module comprises a glass module and a backlight module, and the frame comprises a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion.

11. The display device of claim 10, wherein the glass module is fixed to the first supporting portion along a direction, and the backlight module is fixed to the second supporting portion along the direction, the direction is the normal vector of the display region, wherein the first supporting portion is located on the frame at a position outside that of the second supporting portion.

12. The display device of claim 9, comprising a display module that do not have backlight, and the display module comprising the frame and the panel module, wherein the panel module comprises a glass module, and the frame comprises a supporting portion.

13. The display device of claim 12, wherein the glass module is fixed to the supporting portion, the glass module comprises a first glass plate and a second glass plate, and the glass module comprises an organic light-emitting layer between the first glass plate and the second glass plate.

14. The display device of claim 9, wherein the cover comprises a first fixing portion, and the frame comprises a second fixing portion, wherein when the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion are engaged to each other, the cover is fixed to the frame.

15. The display device of claim 9, wherein the cover has four rims, and the length of the bracket is longer than half the length of one of the rims.

16. The display device of claim 9, wherein the cover further comprises a reinforcing plate and the reinforcing plate is substantially perpendicular to the bracket, wherein the reinforcing plate contacts the bracket or is integrally formed with the bracket.

17. The display device of claim 9, wherein the hinge is used to pivotally connect a host housing, so as to make the display device to rotate relative to the host housing, wherein the hinge is mounted to the pivotal portion by a screw fastening method.

18. The display device of claim 9, wherein the pivotal portion and the bracket are mounted to each other by a fixed method, wherein the fixed method is a thermal binding method, a screw fastening method, or a riveting method.

19. The display device of claim 9, wherein after the cover is mounted to the frame, the sidewall of the cover covers the sidewall of the frame to avoid light leakage of the display device.

20. The display device of claim 9, wherein a width of the bracket is directly proportional to a desired torque of the hinge, wherein the width of the end of the bracket adjacent to the hinge is approximately longer than 25 mm.