WO2013117745A1

WO2013117745A1 - Display device

Info

Publication number: WO2013117745A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/052618
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pieter Jan Delva; Tom Gabriel Devoldere; Gerardus Jacobus Margaretha Maria DE WIT
Original assignee: Tp Vision Holding B.V.
Priority date: 2012-02-10
Filing date: 2013-02-08
Publication date: 2013-08-15

Abstract

Improved display devices comprise, to increase recycling grades, light guide panels (1) made out of glass and/or rear parts (2, 3) such as back plates (2) and back covers (3) made out of glass. The light guide panels (1) and/or the rear parts (2, 3) may provide structural strength to the display devices. Reflection layers (4) may reflect some light coming from the light guide panels (1) and may let some other light pass. By using the rear parts (2, 3) made out of glass or by using other transparent rear parts (2, 3), a part of the light that has passed the reflection layers (4) can pass the rear parts (2, 3) and be used for creating certain atmospheres, to improve appearances and to increase numbers of functions of the display devices. A thickness, a total number of parts, a weight, costs and an assembly time can be reduced.

Description

Display device

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a display device and to a method of assembling a display device.

Examples of such a display device are televisions and monitors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Display devices are of common general knowledge. To satisfy their customers and to be competitive, display device manufacturers are interested in ways to reduce a thickness of their products, to reduce a total number of parts in their products, to reduce a weight of their products, to reduce the costs of their products, to reduce an assembly time of their products, to increase a recycling grade of their products, to improve an appearance of their products and/or to increase a number of functions of their products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved display device. It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved method.

According to a first aspect, a display device is provided comprising a light guide panel made out of glass and/or comprising a rear part made out of glass.

By using a light guide panel made out of glass and/or using a rear part made out of glass in the display device, a recycling grade of the display device has been increased, compared to when using a light guide panel made out of plastic and/or using a rear part made out of plastic or other material different from glass in the display device.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by comprising the light guide panel made out of glass, the light guide panel made out of glass being adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device. According to a first option, the light guide panel is made out of glass and is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device. An other word for strength is solidity or firmness. This first option is based on the thought that glass has a good strength, solidity or firmness. An embodiment of the display device is defined by not comprising the rear part made out of glass. Owing to the fact that the light guide panel is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device, the rear part can be left out. This results in a display device showing a reduced thickness, a reduced total number of parts, a reduced weight, reduced costs, a reduced assembly time, and an improved appearance.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by further comprising the rear part made out of glass or a rear part not made out of glass. Owing to the fact that the light guide panel is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device, the rear part no longer needs to provide such structural strength. This results in a display device showing a reduced weight and reduced costs.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by further comprising a reflection layer between the light guide panel and the rear part, the rear part comprising a back plate and/or a back cover. As before, owing to the fact that the light guide panel is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device, the back plate and/or the back cover no longer need to provide such structural strength. This results in a display device showing a reduced weight and reduced costs and a reduced thickness.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by the reflection layer being adapted to reflect a first part of light coming from the light guide panel and being adapted to let a second part of the light pass, and the rear part being transparent. Owing to the fact that the rear part is transparent, a part of the second part of the light coming from the light guide panel that has passed the reflection layer can pass the rear part and can be used for creating a certain atmosphere. This results in a display device showing an improved appearance and an increased number of functions.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by comprising the rear part made out of glass, the rear part made out of glass being adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device. According to a second option, the rear part is made out of glass and is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device. This second option is also based on the thought that glass has a good strength, solidity or firmness.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by further comprising the light guide panel made out of glass or a light guide panel not made out of glass. Owing to the fact that the rear part is adapted to provide the structural strength to the display device, the light guide panel can be of any material suitable for guiding light. When being made out of glass, the light guide panel may be adapted to further contribute to the structural strength of the display device. An embodiment of the display device is defined by further comprising a reflection layer between the light guide panel and the rear part, the rear part comprising a back plate and/or a back cover. The back plate may be made out of glass, the back cover may be made out of glass, or both may be made out of glass.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by the reflection layer being adapted to reflect a first part of light coming from the light guide panel and being adapted to let a second part of the light pass. Owing to the fact that the rear part is made out of glass, a part of the second part of the light coming from the light guide panel that has passed the reflection layer can pass the rear part and can be used for creating a certain atmosphere. This results in a display device showing an improved appearance and an increased number of functions.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by further comprising a cell layer and an optical stack layer between a front side of the display device and either the light guide panel made out of a glass or a light guide panel not made out of glass. The display device may further comprise light emitting diodes for providing the light to the light guide panel. These light emitting diodes, the light guide panel and the reflection layer are together also known as backlight. The optical stack layer provides filtering and improves efficiency.

An embodiment of the display device is defined by not comprising a heat sink layer between, on the one hand, the light guide panel made out of glass or a light guide panel not made out of glass, and, on the other hand, the rear part made out of glass or a rear part not made out of glass. By avoiding the heat sink layer, a total number of parts is further reduced. Possibly, an alternative or additional heat sink function may need to be given to a part of a housing of the display device, for example for cooling the light emitting diodes. Such a heat sink function cannot be realized through a contact with glass, owing to the fact that glass is a bad temperature spreader.

According to a second aspect, a method is provided of assembling a display device, the method comprising a step of using a light guide panel made out of glass and/or comprising a step of using a rear part made out of glass.

A structural strength of a display device is defined to be at least 20% of a total strength of the display device, preferably at least 30%, more preferably at least 40%>, most preferably at least 50%.

An expression "a light guide panel made out of glass and/or a rear part made out of glass" defines that at least one of the light guide panel and the rear part is made out of glass. An expression "a panel/part made out of glass" defines that at least 50% of the panel/part consists of glass, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%>, most preferably at least 80%.

An expression "a panel/part not made out of glass" defines that at least 50% of the panel/part consists of another material than glass, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%, most preferably at least 80%.

An insight is that glass has a good strength, solidity or firmness. A basic idea is that in a display device either the light guide panel or the rear part or both should be made out of glass.

A problem to provide an improved display device has been solved.

Advantages are that the display device may show a reduced thickness, a reduced total number of parts, a reduced weight, reduced costs, a reduced assembly time, an increased recycling grade, an improved appearance and/or an increased number of functions.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a prior art display device in cross section,

Fig. 2 shows a first embodiment of a display device in cross section,

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a display device in cross section, Fig. 4 shows a third embodiment of a display device in cross section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the Fig. 1, a prior art display device is shown in cross section. This prior art display device comprises from the front to the rear a housing 11, a cell layer 5, a frame 12, an optical stack layer 6, a light emitting diode system 13, a light guide panel 1, a reflection layer 4, a heat sink 7 and a back plate 2. Usually, the light guide panel 1 is here made out of plastic, such as PMMA (po!y methyl methacrylate), and the back plate 2 is here made out of plastic or metal.

In the Fig. 2, a first embodiment of a display device is shown in cross section. This display device comprises from the front to the rear a housing 11, a cell layer 5, a frame 12, an optical stack layer 6, a light emitting diode system 13, a light guide panel 1 and a reflection layer 4. The light guide panel 1 is made out of glass, and according to this first embodiment, a rear part such as the back plate 2 has been left out. The light guide panel 1 made out of glass may be adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device.

In the Fig. 3, a second embodiment of a display device is shown in cross section. This display device comprises from the front to the rear a housing 11, a cell layer 5, a frame 12, an optical stack layer 6, a light emitting diode system 13, a light guide panel 1, a reflection layer 4 and a back cover 3.

The light guide panel 1 is made out of glass, or the back cover 3 is made out of glass, or both. The light guide panel 1 made out of glass may be adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device, or the back cover 3 may be adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device, or both.

In the Fig. 4, a third embodiment of a display device is shown in cross section. This third embodiment only differs from the second embodiment shown in the Fig. 3 in that the back cover 3 is transparent. The reflection layer 4 may be adapted to reflect a first part of light coming from the light guide panel 1 and may be adapted to let a second part of the light pass. By using a back cover 3 that is transparent, a part of the second part of the light may be used for creating a certain atmosphere. In the Fig. 4, light 8 coming from the light emitting diode system 13 results in light 9 going through the optical stack layer 6 and the cell layer 5 for providing video to a viewer and results in light 10 leaving the back cover 3 to create said atmosphere, for example on a wall or a ceiling or a piece of furniture, for providing ambient light to the viewer. Similarly, the back plate 2 shown in the Fig. 1 may be made out of glass.

Summarizing, improved display devices comprise, to increase recycling grades, light guide panels 1 made out of glass and/or rear parts 2, 3 such as back plates 2 and back covers 3 made out of glass. The light guide panels 1 and/or the rear parts 2, 3 may provide structural strength to the display devices. Reflection layers 4 may reflect some light coming from the light guide panels 1 and may let some other light pass. By using the rear parts 2, 3 made out of glass or by using other transparent rear parts 2, 3, a part of the light that has passed the reflection layers 4 can pass the rear parts 2, 3 and be used for creating certain atmospheres, to improve appearances and to increase numbers of functions of the display devices. A thickness, a total number of parts, a weight, costs and an assembly time can be reduced.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A display device comprising a light guide panel (1) made out of glass and/or comprising a rear part (2, 3) made out of glass.

2. The display device as defined in claim 1, comprising the light guide panel (1) made out of glass, the light guide panel (1) made out of glass being adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device.

3. The display device as defined in claim 2, not comprising the rear part (2, 3) made out of glass.

4. The display device as defined in claim 2, further comprising the rear part (2, 3) made out of glass or a rear part (2, 3) not made out of glass.

5. The display device as defined in claim 4, further comprising a reflection layer (4) between the light guide panel (1) and the rear part (2, 3), the rear part (2, 3) comprising a back plate (2) and/or a back cover (3).

6. The display device as defined in claim 5, the reflection layer (4) being adapted to reflect a first part of light coming from the light guide panel (1) and being adapted to let a second part of the light pass, and the rear part (2, 3) being transparent.

7. The display device as defined in claim 1, comprising the rear part (2, 3) made out of glass, the rear part (2, 3) made out of glass being adapted to provide a structural strength to the display device.

8. The display device as defined in claim 7, further comprising the light guide panel (1) made out of glass or a light guide panel (1) not made out of glass.

9. The display device as defined in claim 8, further comprising a reflection layer

(4) between the light guide panel (1) and the rear part (2, 3), the rear part (2, 3) comprising a back plate (2) and/or a back cover (3).

10. The display device as defined in claim 9, the reflection layer (4) being adapted to reflect a first part of light coming from the light guide panel (1) and being adapted to let a second part of the light pass.

11. The display device as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a cell layer (5) and an optical stack layer (6) between a front side of the display device and either the light guide panel (1) made out of a glass or a light guide panel (1) not made out of glass.

12. The display device as defined in claim 1, not comprising a heat sink layer (7) between, on the one hand, the light guide panel (1) made out of glass or a light guide panel (1) not made out of glass, and, on the other hand, the rear part (2, 3) made out of glass or a rear part (2, 3) not made out of glass.

13. A method of assembling a display device, the method comprising a step of using a light guide panel (1) made out of glass and/or comprising a step of using a rear part (2, 3) made out of glass.