Abstract:
A display module includes a planar display panel being a liquid crystal display panel, a frame disposed under the planar display panel, a lower bezel disposed outside the frame, an upper bezel disposed outside the planar display panel, and a back light module disposed inside the frame. The frame includes at least one side wall. The outer surface of the side wall includes a plurality of tenons and a fixing plate is coupled to the side wall. The fixing plate is contacted with a side of the planar display panel. The side wall of the lower bezel includes a first hole corresponding to a first tenon so that the first tenon can be engaged with the first hole. The side wall of the upper bezel includes at least one second hole corresponding to a second tenon so that the second tenon can be engaged with the second hole.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/679,184, filed on Feb. 27, 2007, which is based upon and claims benefit of priority from the prior Taiwan Patent Application No. 095145469, filed on Dec. 6, 2006. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a flat panel display module, and more specifically, to a flat panel display module capable of reducing its exterior size efficiently. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     With the improvement of technology, traditional CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display devices have been gradually replaced by LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) devices. LCD devices are also the most widely-used display devices so far due to the non-flashing, low radiation and small size features. However, just like other electronic products, how to be lighter, thinner, and smaller is an important issue to the development of LCD devices. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a sectional diagram of a flat panel display module  10  according to the prior art. The flat panel display module  10  comprises a planar display panel  12 , an upper bezel  14 , a lower bezel  16 , a frame  18 , and a backlight module  28 . The upper bezel  14  and the lower bezel  16  have side walls  20  and  22  respectively. The backlight module  28  is disposed under the planar display panel  12 . The frame  18  is disposed under the planar display panel  12  and outside the backlight module  28 . The frame  18  comprises a side wall  24  and a panel-positioning component  26  connected to the side wall  24 . The panel-positioning component  26  is disposed between a side of the planar display panel  12  and the side wall  22  of the lower bezel  16  for fixing the planar display panel  12 . Both the upper bezel  14  and the lower bezel  16  are disposed outside the planar display panel  12  and the frame  18 . The side wall  20  and the side wall  22  are overlapped with each other for covering the planar display panel  12  and the frame  18 . Therefore, the thickness extending outwardly from the side of the planar display panel  12  is the sum of the thicknesses of the panel-positioning component  26 , the side wall  20  and the side wall  22 , and the clearance therein. As a result, the assembly according to the prior art does not help reduce the entire size of the flat panel display module. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the present invention provides a flat panel display module having a frame, an upper bezel, and a lower bezel with special design to solve the problem mentioned above. 
     The present invention provides a flat panel display module comprising a planar display panel, a frame, a lower bezel, an upper bezel, and a backlight module. The planar display panel is a liquid crystal display panel. The frame is disposed under the planar display panel, and the frame includes at least one side wall and at least one fixing plate. The outer surface of the side wall includes a plurality of tenons, wherein at least a portion of the tenons and another portion of the tenons are disposed at different horizontal levels of the side wall of the frame. The fixing plate is connected to the side wall of the frame and directly contacted with a side of the planar display panel. The lower bezel is disposed under the planar display panel and outside the frame, and a side wall of the lower bezel includes at least one first hole corresponding to a first tenon among the plurality of tenons of the side wall so as to fix the first tenon in the first hole, wherein the side wall of the lower bezel extends upwardly from the lower bezel disposed under the planar display panel. The upper bezel is disposed above and outside the planar display panel, and a side wall of the upper bezel includes at least one second hole corresponding to a second tenon among the plurality of tenons of the side wall so as to fix the second tenon in the second hole, wherein the side wall of the upper bezel extends downwardly from the upper bezel disposed above the planar display panel. The backlight module is disposed inside the frame. 
     Because the upper and lower bezels of the flat panel display module according to the present invention are engaged with the frame directly through the tenons, the upper and lower bezels are not overlapped with each other so that the thickness of the flat panel display module can be reduced. In addition, the frame of the flat panel display module according to the present invention has a fixing plate to protect the planar display panel, so the fixing plate can be exposed outside the flat panel display module without being protected by the bezel. As a result, the entire size of the flat panel display module can be further reduced. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional diagram of a flat panel display module according to the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional diagram of a flat panel display module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side structure diagram of the flat panel display module in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a structural diagram of the frame of the flat panel display module according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a side structure diagram of the frame of the flat panel display module according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 2  is a sectional diagram of a flat panel display module  50  according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a side structure diagram of the flat panel display module  50  in  FIG. 2 . The flat panel display module  50  comprises a planar display panel  52 , a frame  54  disposed under the planar display panel  52 , a lower bezel  56  disposed outside the frame  54 , and an upper bezel  58  disposed outside the planar display panel  52 . The planar display panel  52  can be an LCD panel. The upper bezel  58  and the lower bezel  56  can be made of plastic or metal material. The frame  54  comprises a side wall  60 . The outer surface of the side wall  60  comprises two tenons  62  and  64  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) and a fixing plate  66  connected to the side wall  60 . The fixing plate  66  has a functionality of baffle and is contacted with a side  68  of the planar display panel  52  directly. The lower bezel  56  has a side wall  70 . The side wall  70  comprises a first hole  72  corresponding to the tenon  62  so as to fix the tenon  62  in the first hole  72 . The upper bezel  58  has a side wall  74 . The side wall  74  comprises a second hole  76  corresponding to the tenon  64  so as to fix the tenon  64  in the second hole  76 . The frame  54  further comprises a panel-positioning board  78  connected to the side wall  60 . The panel-positioning board  78  and the fixing plate  66  together form a containing space  82  for containing and fixing the planar display panel  52 . Therefore, the panel-positioning board  78  and the fixing plate  66  directly contact the planar display panel  52  positioned inside the containing space  82 . The thickness of the fixing plate  66  can be thicker than the thickness of the side wall  74  for preventing the side  68  of the planar display panel  52  from being contacted with the side wall  74  of the upper bezel  58  so as to protect the planar display panel  52 . Moreover, the flat panel display module  50  further comprises a backlight module  80  disposed under the planar display panel  52  and fixed inside the frame  54  for supplying the planar display panel  52  with a backlight source. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  again, more detailed description for the connection of the fixing plate  66 , the lower bezel  56 , and the upper bezel  58  will be provided. The fixing plate  66  is exposed between the lower bezel  56  and the upper bezel  58  and is protruded from the side wall  60 . The fixing plate  66 , the tenons  62  and  64 , and the side walls  74  and  70  are located in a same vertical plane. That is to say, the side walls  74  and  70  are alternatively interlaced and are disposed outside the side wall  60  rather than overlapped with each other, and the fixing plate  66  is vertically sandwiched in between the upper bezel  58  and the lower bezel  56 . Therefore, the lower bezel  56  surrounds the frame  54 , the side wall  60  of the frame  54  is encircled by the side wall  70  of the lower bezel  56 , and the frame  54  is positioned vertically between the upper bezel  58  and the lower bezel  56 . Furthermore, the upper and lower sides of the fixing plate  66  are contacted with the side walls  74  and  70  respectively. In such a manner, the upper bezel  58  and the lower bezel  56  can utilize the engagement of the tenon  62  and the first hole  72  and the engagement of the tenon  64  and the second hole  76  to cover the planar display panel  52 , the frame  54 , the panel-positioning board  78  and the backlight module  80 . As mentioned above, the fixing plate  66 , the tenons  62  and  64 , and the side walls  74  and  70  are located in the same vertical plane. As a result, the thickness extending outwardly from the side  68  of the planar display panel  52  is reduced to only the thickness of the fixing plate  66 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 4  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module  100  according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Differences between the flat panel display module  50  in the first embodiment and the flat panel display module  100  include bezel structure and number of fixing plates (also known as baffles), holes, and tenons. Components mentioned in both the first and second embodiments represent components with similar functions or similar positions. The display module  100  comprises a frame  102  (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) disposed under the planar display panel  52 , a lower bezel  104  disposed outside the frame  102 , and an upper bezel  106  disposed outside the planar display panel  52 . Referring to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 5  is a structural diagram of the frame  102  of the flat panel display module  100  according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The frame  102  comprises a side wall  108 . The outer surface of the side wall  108  comprises a plurality of tenons and fixing plates. The second embodiment only shows the frame  102  has three tenons ( 110 ,  112 ,  114 ) and two fixing plates ( 116 ,  118 ). The fixing plates  116  and  118  are contacted with the side  68  of the planar display panel  52 . The frame  102  can further comprise a plurality of side walls besides the side wall  108  for forming a containing space with the side wall  108  to fix the backlight module  80  inside the flat panel display module  100 . 
     In addition, the lower bezel  104  has a side wall  120 . The side wall  120  comprises two first holes  122  and  124  corresponding to the tenons  110  and  114  respectively so as to fix the tenons  110  and  114  in the first holes  122  and  124  respectively. The side wall  120  further comprises a tooth structure  138 . The tooth structure  138  has two teeth  140  and  142 , and a groove  144 . The upper bezel  106  has a side wall  126 . The side wall  126  comprises a second hole  128  corresponding to the tenon  112  so as to fix the tenon  112  in the second hole  128 . The side wall  126  of the upper bezel  106  has a tooth structure  130 . The tooth structure  130  has two grooves  132  and  134 , and a tooth  136  wherein the tooth  136  is disposed between the fixing plates (also known as baffles)  116  and  118 . The teeth  136 ,  140 ,  142  and the grooves  144 ,  132 ,  134  are alternatively interlaced so as to combine the tooth structure  130  and the tooth structure  138 . The fixing plate  116  is located between the groove  132  and the tooth  140 , and the fixing plate  118  is located between the groove  134  and the tooth  142 . In such a manner, the upper bezel  106  and the lower bezel  104  can utilize the engagements of the tenons ( 110 ,  112 ,  114 ) and the holes ( 122 ,  124 ,  128 ) to cover the planar display panel  52 , the frame  102 , the panel-positioning board  78  and the backlight module  80 . And as mentioned above, the fixing plates  116 ,  118 , the tenons  110 ,  112 ,  114 , the side wall  126 , and the side wall  120  are located in the same vertical plane. As a result, the thickness extending outwardly from the side  68  of the planar display panel  52  is also reduced to only the thickness of the fixing plate  116  or  118 , or the thickness of the side wall  126 . 
     It should be mentioned that the number of grooves and teeth on the tooth structures  130 ,  138 , holes on the upper bezel  106  and the lower bezel  104 , and fixing plates and tenons on the frame  102  is not limited to the number mentioned in the second embodiment and can change according to the screen size of the flat panel display module. That is to say, the number of grooves and teeth on the tooth structures  130  and  138  can increase with the screen size of the flat panel display module. And the number of holes, fixing plates and tenons can also increase correspondingly. In such a manner, the upper bezel  106  and the lower bezel  104  can utilize the engagement of the tooth structure  130  and the tooth structure  138  and the engagement of the tenons and the holes to cover the planar display panel  52 , the frame  54 , the panel-positioning board  78  and the backlight module  80 . 
     For example, referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 6  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module  100  according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 7  is a side structure diagram of the frame  102  of the flat panel display module  100  according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The numerals given to each element in  FIGS. 6-7  are the same as that in  FIGS. 4-5 . In this embodiment, the flat panel display module  100  can be applied to display devices of bigger size. Therefore, the number of grooves and teeth on the tooth structures  130  and  138  is greater than those in the second embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the tooth structure  130  of the upper bezel  106  comprises three grooves  132  and two teeth  136 , and the tooth structure  138  of the lower bezel  104  comprises three teeth  140  and two grooves  144  corresponding to the grooves  132  and the teeth  136  respectively to cover the side wall  108 . The side wall  108  comprises five tenons  110  engaged with the teeth  136  and  140  respectively to fix the teeth  136  and  140  on the side wall  108 . The fixing plate  116  protruded from the side wall  108  is exposed between the teeth  140  and the grooves  132 . Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sizes of the teeth  136  and  140  can be not the same as one another. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 8  is a side structure diagram of a flat panel display module  150  according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Differences between the flat panel display module  150  and the flat panel display module  100  in the second embodiment include lower bezel and fixing plate structures. Components mentioned in the first, second and fourth embodiments represent components with similar functions or similar positions. The flat panel display module  150  comprises the frame  102  (not shown in  FIG. 8 ), the lower bezel  104  and the upper bezel  106 . The frame  102  comprises two fixing plates  152  and  154  connected to the side wall  108 . The fixing plates  152  and  154  are shorter than the fixing plates  116  and  118  in length. The lower bezel  104  comprises two teeth  156  and  158 . The teeth  156  and  158  have sunken portions  146  corresponding to the shape of the fixing plates  152  and  154  respectively to form containing spaces for containing the fixing plates  152  and  154 . And because the fixing plates  152  and  154 , the tenons  110 ,  112 ,  114 , the side wall  126 , and the side wall  120  are located in the same vertical plane, the thickness extending outwardly from the side  68  of the planar display panel  52  is also reduced to only the thickness of the fixing plate  152  or  154 , or the thickness of the side wall  126 . 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention utilizes the engagement of the upper bezel, the lower bezel and the fixing plate and the engagement of the tenons and the holes to reduce the size of the flat panel display module, so the thickness extending outwardly from the side of the flat panel module is reduced from the thicknesses of the fixing plate and the side walls on the upper and lower bezels down to the thickness of the fixing plate or the upper bezel. In such a manner, the thickness extending outwardly from the planar display panel can be reduced efficiently so as to make the entire size of the flat panel display module much smaller. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.