Abstract:
A display device includes a display panel unit that includes a panel body having a display screen for displaying information and a control board on which a control circuit for controlling display on the display screen is mounted. The control board is disposed on a back surface of the panel body opposite the display screen and has a width shorter than a width of the panel body. The display device further includes: a housing containing the display panel unit; and an antenna built in the housing to perform communications. The display device further includes a signal line connected to the antenna to transmit an electric signal carrying information communicated by the antenna, and extending along the back surface of the panel body without interfering with the control board.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a display device that displays information and to an information processing apparatus that processes information and displays the processed information. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In recent years, portable terminal apparatus provided with a display device, such as cell phones and laptop computers have been widely used. Generally, because reduction in size and weight of the portable terminal apparatus is strongly demanded, a small display device that contains elements such as a display screen, a light source, a control circuit for controlling the liquid crystal panel and the like, and a communication antenna is employed in the portable terminal apparatus. 
         [0005]    By the way, as for personal computers such as recent laptop computers, a display screen is required to be as large as possible while the size of the entire computer is required to be as small as possible. In order to meet both of these requirements, it is conceivable to reduce the thickness of the housing. However, if the thickness of the housing is made too small, the strength of the housing is very likely to decrease. 
         [0006]    Also, it is conceivable to shrink the gap between the housing and the liquid crystal panel by improving the layout of various components contained in the housing. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-62628 describes a technique for disposing a light source and an antenna on a flexible control board that extends along a liquid crystal panel, and laying the control board on the liquid crystal panel so that the control board can establish connection with the liquid crystal panel in a flexible manner. According to the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-62628, the outer dimensions of the display device can be reduced. 
         [0007]    However, in many of portable terminal apparatus, an antenna is built in the housing of the apparatus and thus, like the display device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-62628, a signal line is usually arranged to run along the side of the display panel. Therefore, in order to reduce the area around the side of the display panel for the purpose of reducing the size of the housing, it is necessary to improve the wiring of the signal line. 
         [0008]    In addition, such improvement is not only required in portable terminal apparatus, but also generally required in any field where a display device having an antenna and a display panel contained in the housing is used. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a display device and an information processing apparatus in which wiring of signal line is improved. 
         [0010]    A display device according to the invention includes: 
         [0011]    a display panel unit that includes a panel body having a display screen for displaying information and a control board on which a control circuit for controlling display on the display screen is mounted, the control board being disposed on a back surface of the panel body opposite the display screen and having a width shorter than a width of the panel body; 
         [0012]    a housing containing the display panel unit; 
         [0013]    an antenna built in the housing to perform communications; and 
         [0000]    a signal line connected to the antenna to transmit an electric signal carrying information communicated by the antenna, and extending along the back surface of the panel body without interfering with the control board. 
         [0014]    According to the display device of the present invention, the control board having a width shorter than that of the panel body is disposed on the back surface of the panel body, and the signal line for the antenna is disposed in a space between the control board and the housing. Therefore, there is no need to provide a space for disposing the signal line along the side of the panel body, which makes the size of the housing almost as small as that of the panel body, thereby reducing the size of the entire device. 
         [0015]    In addition, in the display device according to the present invention, preferably, the antenna is disposed above the display panel unit within the housing. 
         [0016]    Because personal computers, for example laptop computers, are required to reduce the length in the lateral direction of the display section rather than the length in the vertical direction, they are often provided with more space in the area above the display panel unit than the area at the sides of the display panel unit. Therefore, disposing the antenna above the display panel unit by utilizing the space makes it possible to reduce the size of the device. 
         [0017]    The present invention also provides an information processing apparatus that includes: 
         [0018]    a display section including: 
         [0019]    a display panel unit that includes a panel body having a display screen for displaying information and a control board on which a control circuit for controlling display on the display screen is mounted, the control board being disposed on a back surface of the panel body opposite the display screen and having a width shorter than a width of the panel body; 
         [0020]    a housing containing the display panel unit, 
         [0021]    an antenna built in the housing to perform communications, and 
         [0022]    a signal line connected to the antenna to transmit an electric signal carrying information communicated by the antenna, and extending along the back surface of the panel body without interfering with the control board; and 
         [0000]    an information processing section that processes information and causes the display section to display the processed information on the display screen of the display panel unit included in the display section. 
         [0023]    According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus by making the space between the panel body and the housing smaller. 
         [0024]    In addition, in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, preferably, the antenna is disposed above the display panel unit within the housing. 
         [0025]    This additional feature makes it possible to further reduce the size of the information processing apparatus. 
         [0026]    According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus by reducing the space between the panel body and the housing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is an external perspective view of a personal computer to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a hardware configuration diagram of the personal computer; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3A  is a view illustrating a front cover as viewed from the front; 
           [0030]      FIG. 3B  is a view illustrating a display panel unit as viewed from the front; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3C  is a view illustrating a rear cover as viewed from the front; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4A  is a view illustrating the front cover as viewed from the back; 
           [0033]      FIG. 4B  is a view illustrating the display panel unit as viewed from the back; 
           [0034]      FIG. 4C  is a view illustrating the rear cover as viewed from the back; 
           [0035]      FIG. 5  is a view illustrating the internal configuration of the front cover in which the display panel unit and an antenna are arranged; 
           [0036]      FIG. 6  is a view illustrating the display panel unit from which a control board has been removed; 
           [0037]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a display device taken along a direction in which a radiator plate extends; 
           [0038]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a conventional display device taken along a direction in which a radiator plate extends; 
           [0039]      FIG. 9  is a view illustrating a display panel unit as viewed from the front according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0040]      FIG. 10  is a view illustrating the display panel unit as viewed from the back according to the second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0041]      FIG. 11  is a view illustrating a rear cover which covers the rear face of the display panel unit; 
           [0042]      FIG. 12  is a view illustrating the positional relationship between the display panel unit and rear cover when the display panel unit is received in the rear cover; and 
           [0043]      FIG. 13  is a view illustrating the rear face of a display panel unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0044]    Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 
         [0045]      FIG. 1  is an external perspective view of a personal computer  10  to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the personal computer  10  includes a main device  11 , a display device  12  which displays various types of information on a display screen  12 A according to a command from the main device  11 , a keyboard  13  for inputting various types of information dependent on a key operation into the main device  11 , and a mouse  14  by which a position on the display screen is specified, so that a command dependent on an icon or the like displayed on that position is inputted. Further, though not illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the personal computer  10  includes an FD mounting opening for mounting a flexible disk (hereinafter referred to as an FD) and a CD-ROM mounting opening for mounting a CD-ROM. The display screen  12 A corresponds to an example of the display screen according to the present invention. 
         [0047]    In the personal computer  10 , the display device  12  is joined to the main device  11  via a hinge  10 A. In the display device  12 , the width W of a housing  12 B at a margin beside the display screen  12 A is small, thus achieving device downsizing. The display device  12  corresponds to an example of the display section according to the present invention, and also corresponds to one embodiment of the display device according to the present invention; and the main device  11  corresponds to an example of the processing section according to the present invention. 
         [0048]    The configuration in the inside of the housing  12 B of the display device  12  will be described in detail later. 
         [0049]      FIG. 2  is a hardware configuration diagram of the personal computer  10 . 
         [0050]    As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , incorporated in the inside of the main device  11  are: a CPU  21  which controls the whole personal computer  10 ; a main memory  22  into which a program stored in a hard disk device  23  is read to be executed by the CPU  21 ; the hard disk device  23  in which various types of programs, data and the like are stored; an FD drive  24  which an FD  30  mounted therein; a CD-ROM drive  25  which accesses a CD-ROM  40 ; an input interface  26  which is connected to various devices and receives various data; and an output interface  27  which is connected to a printer or the like and sends various data. These components, the display device  12 , the keyboard  13  and the mouse  14  illustrated as well in  FIG. 1  are connected to each other via a bus  15 . 
         [0051]    The personal computer  10  basically has the above-described configuration. 
         [0052]    The internal configuration of the display device  12  will now be described in detail. In the following description, the “front” means the front side of the display device  12  illustrated in  FIG. 1  where the display screen  12 A for displaying information is disposed, and the “rear” means the rear side of the display device  12  (the other side with respect to the front side where the display screen  12 A is disposed. 
         [0053]      FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C,  4 A,  4 B and  4 C are views illustrating major components of the display device  12 ;  FIGS. 3A and 4A  illustrate a front cover  100 ;  FIGS. 3B and 4B  illustrate a display panel unit  200 ;  FIGS. 3C and 4C  illustrate a rear cover  300 .  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  3 C illustrate each component as viewed from the “front”;  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C illustrate each component as viewed from the “rear”. Descriptions will be given below with reference to these component diagrams and  FIG. 1 . 
         [0054]    In the display device  12 , the display panel unit  200  is received in the housing  12 B composed of two covers. The housing  12 B includes: the front cover  100  covering the edge of the display screen  12 A of the display panel unit  200 ; and the rear cover  300  covering the back of the display panel unit  200 . The front cover  100  and the rear cover  300  are fit into each other at both sides of the display panel unit  200 . The display panel unit  200  corresponds to an example of the display panel unit according to the present invention. 
         [0055]      FIG. 3A  illustrates the “front” side of the front cover  100 . 
         [0056]    The front cover  100  includes: an edge cover section  110  covering the edge of the display panel unit  200 , a hinge joint section  130  to which the hinge  10 A illustrated in  FIG. 1  is attached, and a wiring cover section  140  which covers various connection lines and the like for connecting the main device  11  and the display device  12 . An opening  120  is formed in that part of the edge cover section  110  which faces the display screen  12 A of the display panel unit  200 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 3B  illustrates the “front” side of the display panel unit  200 . 
         [0058]    The display panel unit  200  includes a panel body  210  that includes stacked components such as a liquid crystal layer having liquid crystal encapsulated between two plates, a light guide plate which guides light to the liquid crystal layer, and a reflection prevention sheet which suppresses light reflection, and also includes plural LED light sources  201  linearly arranged and fitted into the lower edge of the panel body  210 . The display panel unit  200  also includes a control board  220  (refer to  FIG. 4B ) that controls the whole display panel unit  200 . Light emitted by the LED light sources  201  is guided to the liquid crystal layer by the light guide plate provided on the panel body  210 , and irradiated on the display screen  12 A from the rear side. The LED light sources  201  tend to generate heat and further tend to be degraded by the heat. According to the present embodiment, the plural LED light sources  201  are linearly arranged; thus a linear area P into which the LED light sources  201  are fitted tends to have a high temperature and particularly in the central part P′ of the area P, heat tends to accumulate. 
         [0059]      FIG. 3C  illustrates the “front” side of the rear cover  300 . 
         [0060]    The rear cover  300  includes a rear cover section  300 A that covers the rear face of the display panel unit  200 , and a hinge joint section  310  to which the hinge  10 A is attached. And plural through holes  301  are formed in that part of the rear cover section  300 A which covers the side of the display panel unit  200 . 
         [0061]      FIG. 4A  illustrates the “rear” side of the front cover  100 . 
         [0062]    Plural protrusions  101  are provided in that part of the edge cover section  110  of the front cover  100  which covers the side of the display panel unit  200 ; when these protrusions  101  are fitted into the plural through holes  301  arranged in the rear cover section  300 A, the rear cover  300  and the front cover  100  are joined in a separable manner. 
         [0063]      FIG. 4B  illustrates the “rear” side of the display panel unit  200 . 
         [0064]    In the rear face of the panel body  210 , a radiator plate  230  for dissipating heat is attached onto area P which is heated by the LED light sources  201 , and further the control board  220  which controls the whole display panel unit  200  is placed on the radiator plate  230 . According to the present embodiment, the width W 1  of the control board  220  is smaller than the width W 2  of the panel body  210 , and thus steps are formed at both sides of the control board  220 . 
         [0065]      FIG. 4C  illustrates the “rear” side of the rear cover  300 . 
         [0066]    The rear cover  300  is also provided with a wiring cover section  320  which fits in the wiring cover section  140  of the front cover  100  and covers various connection lines from the back of the display panel unit  200 . 
         [0067]    In assembling the display device  12 , firstly the display panel unit  200  is received in the front cover  100  so that the display screen  12 A of the display panel unit  200  fits into the opening  120  of the front cover  100 . 
         [0068]    Subsequently, an antenna  400  (refer to  FIG. 5 ) is arranged in an open space between the front cover  100  and the display panel unit  200 , the open space being formed in the upper part of the front cover  100 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 5  is a view illustrating the internal configuration of the front cover  100  in which the display panel unit  200  and the antenna  400  are arranged. 
         [0070]    As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the display panel unit  200  is received in the front cover  100  while the front cover  100  has a remaining space in the upper part thereof; the antenna  400  is arranged in the space. According to the present embodiment, the width W 1  of the control board  220  is smaller than the width W 2  of the panel body  210 , and thus steps are formed at both sides of the control board  220 ; a signal line  410  extending from the antenna  400  runs through the steps to the wiring cover section  140 . 
         [0071]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3B , of the linear area P having fitted therein the LED light sources  201  of the panel body  210 , particularly the central part P′ tends to have a high temperature. 
         [0072]      FIG. 6  is a view illustrating the display panel unit  200  from which the control board  220  has been removed. 
         [0073]    As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the radiator plate  230  extends along the linear area P; the width of the linear area P becomes smaller from the central part P′ to the end of the linear area P. Accordingly, heat is dissipated relatively efficiently in the central part P′, suppressing non-uniformity of temperature in the linear area P and thus allowing improvement of life of all the plural LED light sources  201 . 
         [0074]    As described above, after the display panel unit  200  and antenna  400  are received in the front cover  100 , the protrusions  101  of the front cover  100  are fitted into the through holes  301  of the rear cover  300 , whereby the housing  12 B is assembled. 
         [0075]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the display device  12  taken along a direction in which the radiator plate  230  extends;  FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a conventional display device taken along a direction in which the radiator plate extends. 
         [0076]    In the display device  12  according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the rear cover  300  is formed so that the wall thickness d 1  in the face side thereof is thinner than the wall thickness d 2  in the rear side; the change in thickness of the rear cover  300  takes place across the through holes  301 . Further, the front cover  100  is formed so that the wall thickness d 3  in the face side thereof is approximately equal to a wall width difference (d 2 -d 1 ) of the rear cover  300 ; the change in thickness of the front cover  100  takes place across the protrusions  101 . Accordingly, when the front cover  100  and the rear cover  300  are joined, the external surface of the housing  12 B becomes smooth. Also, the protrusions  101  of the front cover  100  are fitted into the through holes  301  of the rear cover  300  while pressed to the side surfaces of the rear cover  300  and bent toward the outside of the housing  12 B; further, assist protrusions  302  are fitted into the rear cover  300 . As a result, the front cover  100  and rear cover  300  are secured to each other. 
         [0077]    In the conventional display device  12 ′, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , because clicks  101 ′ and  301 ′ provided in a front cover  100 ′ and a rear cover  300 ′, respectively engage with each other in the inside of the housing  12 B′, there must be a sufficient space between the housing  12 B′ and display panel unit  200 ′ so that these clicks  101 ′ and  301 ′ can bend. In the display device  12  according to the present embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the protrusions  101  bend toward the outside, so that the space between the housing  12 B and display panel unit  200  can be reduced, allowing downsizing of the display device  12 . 
         [0078]    Further, in the conventional display device  12 ′, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the width of the control board  220 ′ is appropriately identical to that of the panel body  210 ′ and thus a space for receiving signal lines  410 ′ extending from the antenna  400  (refer to  FIG. 5 ) must be prepared between the display panel unit  200 ′ and housing  12 B′. In the display device  12  illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the signal lines  410  are laid through the space beside the control board  220 , allowing reduction of the width of display device. 
         [0079]    As described above, according to the display device  12  of the present embodiment, the space between the housing and display panel unit  200  can be reduced, so that the display device  12  can be downsized without reducing the size of the display screen  12 A. 
         [0080]    Further, non-uniformity of temperature in the area around the heat-vulnerable LED light sources can be suppressed to efficiently dissipate heat, allowing improvement in life of the display device  12 . 
         [0081]    Now, the description of the first embodiment of the present invention is finished, and a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The difference between the first embodiment and second embodiment lies in the structure of display panel unit and rear cover; apart from this difference, the second embodiment has substantially the same structure as the first embodiment. Accordingly, the same reference alphanumeric characters are applied to parts corresponding to the first embodiment, and hence an explanation thereof is omitted; only the points different from the first embodiment will be described. 
         [0082]      FIG. 9  is a view illustrating the front of a display panel unit  500  of the present embodiment. 
         [0083]    The display panel unit  500  of the present embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 9  includes, similarly to the display panel unit  200  of the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3B , a panel body  210  and control board  220 ; plural LED light sources  201  are fitted in the panel body  210 . In the display panel unit  500 , however, the control board  220  is not laid on the panel body  210 , but disposed inside the housing while extending from the panel body  210 . 
         [0084]      FIG. 10  is a view illustrating the back of the display panel unit  500  according to the present embodiment. 
         [0085]    In the display panel unit  500  of the present embodiment, a heat transmission plate  510  of rubber for transmitting heat to a rear cover  600  (refer to  FIG. 11 ) is attached to the linear area P in which heat generated by the LED light sources  201  is accumulated. 
         [0086]      FIG. 11  is a view illustrating the rear cover  600  that covers the back of the display panel unit  500 . 
         [0087]    The rear cover  600  of the present embodiment has the same shape as the rear cover  300  of the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3C , but is composed of two kinds of materials having thermal conductivity different from each other. According to the present embodiment, a metal area  610  of a metal having a high thermal conductivity and a plastic area  620  of a plastic having a relatively low thermal conductivity are formed in a hybrid manner, and the borderline between them protrudes downward in the rear cover  600 . 
         [0088]      FIG. 12  is a view illustrating the positional relationship between the display panel unit  500  and rear cover  600  when the display panel unit  500  is received in the rear cover  600 . 
         [0089]    As illustrated in  FIG. 12 , the heat transmission plate  510  arranged in the linear area P heated by the LED light sources  201  contacts the boundary and its vicinities between the metal area  610  and plastic area  620  of the rear cover  600 ; the central part P′ of the linear area P (see  FIG. 10 ) has a large contact area with the metal area  610 , and the both ends of the linear area P have a large contact area with the plastic area  620 . The heat generated by the linear area P is transmitted via the heat transmission plate  510  to the rear cover  600  and dissipated through the rear cover  600 . In this case, since the central part P′ in which heat tends to accumulate contacts the metal area  610 , the heat is efficiently transmitted and dissipated; since the ends of the linear area P in which heat hardly accumulates contact the plastic area  620  having a low thermal conductivity, the heat is transmitted and dissipated with a low efficiency. Consequently, non-uniformity of temperature in the linear area P is reduced, allowing improvement of device life. 
         [0090]    Now, the description of the second embodiment of the present invention is finished, and a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The difference between the second embodiment and third embodiment lies in the configuration of the heat transmission plate mounted in the display panel unit and the structure of the rear cover; apart from this difference, the third embodiment has substantially the same structure as the second embodiment. Accordingly, the same reference alphanumeric characters are applied to parts corresponding to the second embodiment, and hence an explanation thereof is omitted; only the points different from the second embodiment will be described. 
         [0091]    In the display device according to the present embodiment, there is used a rear cover which has the same configuration as the rear cover  600  of the second embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12  but has its whole surface composed of metal except for its part which covers the edge of the display panel unit. 
         [0092]      FIG. 13  is a view illustrating the back of a display panel unit  700  of the present embodiment. 
         [0093]    The display panel unit  700  of the present embodiment includes, similarly to the display panel unit  500  of the second embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 10 , a panel body  210 , a control board  220  and a heat transmission plate  510 ′. However, the configuration of the heat transmission plate  510 ′ is different from that of the heat transmission plate  510  of the second embodiment. In the heat transmission plate  510 ′ of the present embodiment, the width of the linear area P heated by the LED light sources becomes smaller from the central part P′ to the ends of the linear area P; and the whole heat transmission plate  510 ′ contacts the metal surface of the rear cover  600 . 
         [0094]    In the central part P′, a larger amount of heat generated in the linear area P is transmitted through the heat transmission plate  510  to the rear cover  600  and dissipated through the rear cover  600 . In this way, when the central part of the linear area P in which heat tends to accumulate has a larger width, also, non-uniformity of temperature in the linear area P can be suppressed. 
         [0095]    The above description is of an example in which the present invention is applied to a personal computer. However, the present invention may be applied to, for example, a liquid crystal television set or a mobile telephone terminal. 
         [0096]    Also, the above description is of an example in which non-uniformity of temperature in the linear area is suppressed by forming the heat transmission plate so that the central part of the linear area has a larger width. However, non-uniformity of temperature in the linear area may also be suppressed by using a heat transmission plate having a uniform width over the entire linear area, the both ends of the heat transmission plate being coated with resin which prevents heat transmission.