Display apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9659489-B2
Application number	US-201313769509-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 18, 2013
Priority date	Feb 22, 2012
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A display apparatus is disclosed, which includes a display unit, an opening member, a light source, a light transmission member, and a buffer having a buffer main portion and a light block portion. The buffer main portion is held between the display unit and the light transmission member. The light block portion protrudes from the buffer main portion along an opposing surface of the light transmission member opposing the display unit, and covers a reached region of the opposing surface to which a direct light from the light source toward an opening of the opening member reaches.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A display apparatus comprising:
a liquid crystal display unit, of an in-vehicle meter, the liquid crystal display unit including a display screen for displaying information;
an opening member that is located in a displaying direction of the liquid crystal display unit and defines a display opening in a region that overlaps the display screen in the displaying direction;
a light source that is located at a place other than a region that overlaps the display opening in the displaying direction, wherein the light source radiates a light for illuminating the display screen;
a light transmission member that is made of a light transmission material and includes
a backlight portion that is located on an opposite side of the liquid crystal display unit from the opening member so that the liquid crystal display unit is located between the backlight portion and the opening member and the light from the light source is diffused inside the backlight portion and emitted toward the display screen in the displaying direction, and
a light guide portion that protrudes from the backlight portion toward the light source to guide the light from the light source to the backlight portion;

a holder holding the backlight portion and the liquid crystal display unit of the in-vehicle meter to hold the light transmission member and the liquid crystal display unit, wherein the holder includes
a support portion that supports the light transmission member, and
a holding portion that opposes the support portion, wherein the light transmission member and the liquid crystal display unit are held between the support portion and the holding portion; and

a buffer member that includes
a buffer main body portion that is sandwiched between the liquid crystal display unit and the backlight portion while being compressed, so that by a restoring force, the buffer main body portion presses the liquid crystal display unit toward one of the support portion and the holding portion and presses the light transmission member toward the other of the support portion and the holding portion, and
a light block portion that is a part of the buffer main body portion and protrudes laterally from the buffer main body portion along an opposing surface of the light transmission member, the opposing surface being a surface opposing the liquid crystal display unit, wherein the light block portion covers a reached region of the opposing surface of the light transmission member, wherein the reached region of the opposing surface of the light transmission member is a region to which a direct light radiated from the light source toward the display opening reaches; wherein
the opposing surface of the light transmission member faces and is parallel to the liquid crystal display unit and has a specific part that is disposed outward of an outer end of the liquid crystal display unit in a direction away from a center of the liquid crystal display unit;
a section of the light block portion of the buffer member is disposed outward of the outer end of the liquid crystal display unit in the direction away from the center of the liquid crystal display unit and covers the specific part of the opposing surface of the light transmission member, the section of the light block portion disposed outward of the outer end of the liquid crystal display unit not being in direct contact with the liquid crystal display unit;
when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit, the light guide portion and the light source overlap with each other and do not overlap with the liquid crystal display unit;
the support portion of the holder does not cross a straight line that connects the light source to a part of a perimeter of the display opening closest to the light source among the perimeter of the display opening;
the light block portion of the buffer member crosses the straight line that connects the light source to the part of the perimeter of the display opening closest to the light source among the perimeter of the display opening; and
when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit, the light block portion of the buffer member does not overlap with the display opening but overlaps with the light guide portion and the light source.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the light block portion is arranged to reflect the direct light to the backlight portion.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the light block portion is larger than the reached region of the opposing surface.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the buffer member is a buffer sheet having an annular shape.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the display apparatus is a meter mounted in a vehicle.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the light guide portion of the light transmission member has a reflecting surface for reflecting and guiding the light, which is emitted from the light source and is traveling through the light guide portion, into the backlight portion; and
the light block portion of the buffer main body portion protrudes laterally from the buffer main body portion along the opposing surface of the light transmission member to optically cover the reflecting surface of the light guide portion.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the light guide portion has an incident surface opposing the light source;
the light emitted from the light source is incident on the incident surface to travel through the light guide portion;
the light guide portion has a bent-shape part through which the incident surface communicates with an emission surface of the backlight portion;
the bent-shape part of the light guide portion has a reflecting surface for reflecting and guiding the light, which is incident on the incident surface and is traveling through the light guide portion, into the backlight portion; and
the light block portion covers an outside of the bent-shape part of the light guide portion to hang over the bent-shaped part of the light guide portion.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein:
the buffer main body portion has a light reflecting surface opposing the backlight portion.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display apparatus does not include a rotating pointer.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystal display unit displays an image acquired from a controller.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the image is a colored image.

12. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystal display unit defines a display screen, the display screen defining a continuous planar surface without an aperture.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light guided by the light guide portion to the backlight portion is the only light provided to the backlight portion.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the buffer member is made of white polyurethane or black polyurethane.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Kurahashi Mitsuyuki

Classifications

• B60K35/22

  Display screens · CPC title

• B60K35/50

  Instruments characterised by their means of attachment to or integration in the vehicle (B60K35/231 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G08C23/06 Primary

  through light guides, e.g. optical fibres · CPC title

• B60K2350/967

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60K37/02

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic