Abstract:
A front mask of a display device having luminous parts (LED) and peripheral parts (a connector and the like) are integrated by resin-molding with the parts being electrically connected in advance by a film insulated wire. Each part is arranged at a predetermined position prior to resin-molding. Then, electrical connection is make between these parts by the film insulated wire. Finally, resin is injected to manufacture an integrated body.

Description:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/778,353, filed Oct. 17, 1991 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a front mask of a display device in which display parts of an image display device such as LED displaying an image, and the peripheral parts are integrated by resin-molding, as well as to a manufacturing method thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 62-49192(1987) discloses a front mask of a display device in which display parts and peripheral parts are integrated by resin-molding. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the conventional front mask which has been disclosed as mentioned above. FIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway view of FIG. 1 as seen along the direction II. FIG. 3 shows a sectional view as seen along the line III--III of FIG. 2. A front mask 30 has an LED 22, which functions as luminous parts, and peripheral parts of the luminous parts, including a resistor 23 and a connector 24 to be connected to an external device, are integrated by resin-molding. A terminal 25 of the LED 22 and a terminal 26 of the resistor 23 project beyond the surface 27 of a mask main body 21. An electrical connection is made between the terminal 25 and the terminal 26, between the terminal 25 and the connector 24, and between the terminal 26 and the connector 24, by a conductor pattern 28 which is formed on the surface 27 by printing. 
     The manufacturing process of the front mask 30 which has such structural features as mentioned above is described below. First, a mold for forming is prepared. The LED 22, the resistor 23, and the connector 24 are installed at the mounting portion, which has been formed at a predetermined position of the mold. Then, liquid resin is injected through an injection opening of the mold. After the resin is hardened, the mold is demolished, and the mask main body 21 which is integrated with each part is taken out. Then, the conductor pattern 28 is formed by printing at the predetermined position on the surface of the mask main body 21 between the terminal 25 and the terminal 26, between the terminal 25 and the connector 24, and between the terminal 26 and the connector 24. 
     Since a conventional front mask 30 of a display device is constructed as mentioned above, the LED 22, the resistor 23, and the connector 24 are integrated with the mask main body 21. This makes it possible to manufacture such a device with a high level of accuracy in size. There, however, exist problems. For example since the connection between these parts is made by the printed conductor pattern 28, the printing process is complicated. Further since each part should be arranged by considering the level of printing performance of the conductor pattern 28, there is a considerable limitation in the degree of freedom in the arrangement of each part and design. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In the front mask of display device of the present invention, the luminous parts (LED) and the peripheral parts (the connector and the like) are integrated by resin-molding while they are set in an electrically connected condition by a film insulated wire in advance. Each part is placed at a predetermined position in the mold prior to the resin-molding process. Then, electrical connection is made between the corresponding parts by using the film insulated wire. After the process, resin is injected to manufacture an integrated body. 
     One object of the present invention is to provide a front mask of a display device which makes it possible to improve operation of the manufacturing process as well as the manufacturing method thereof. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a front mask of a display device which improves the degree of freedom in the arrangement of each part as well as the manufacturing method thereof. 
     The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the conventional front mask of display device, 
     FIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway view of the front mask as seen along the direction II of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the front mask as seen along the line III--III of FIG. 2, 
     FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the front mask of display device of the present invention, 
     FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the front mask as seen along the line V--V of FIG. 4, and 
     FIG. 6(a) and FIG. 6(b) are schematic views showing the procedure of resin-molding in the manufacturing process of the front mask of display device of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show a preferred embodiment according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 in the drawing shows a front mask in which the LED 2 and a connector 5 are integrated with a mask main body 1 by resin-molding with epoxy resin and the like. The LED 2 and the connector 5 are electrically connected by a film insulated wire 8 which is integrated with the mask main body 1. 
     The film insulated wire 8 is formed in an integrated body which is made of a plurality of conductors or insulated wires running in parallel to each other. As a conductor, a thin annealed copper wire, a twined annealed copper wire, a copper foil or the like can be used. The processing of film may be carried out by the method in which adhesion is obtained by such adhesives as PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) between the insulated wires which are laid out in parallel to each other, or the method in which a conductor is sandwiched between insulating tapes and then heat-pressed. The insulating tape which has a lamination of low melting point polyethylene and the like over one side of the polyester tape is used as material in this process. The film insulated wire 8 which is used in this preferred embodiment has a conductor 8a sandwiched between two sheets of insulating tapes 8b and 8b. 
     The manufacturing process of the front mask which has the above mentioned features, especially the resin-molding process, is described below by reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6(a) shows a mold for forming to be used in the resin-molding process. This mold is comprised of the metal mold 11 on the core side and the metal mold 12 on the cavity side. A cavity 13 is established in the position between the molds 11 and 12 in a way that the cavity 13 fits the shape of the front mask to be manufactured. A resin injection opening 14 is established which communicates with the cavity 13. In addition, mounting portions 15 for positioning are provided on the mold 11 on the core side to install the connector, the LED, and the like. 
     Parts including the LED 2 and the connector 5 are installed on the mounting portions 15 provided at a predetermined position in the mold for forming particular structural features. Then, electrical connection is made between parts including the LED 2 and the connector 5 by using the film insulated wire 8. FIG. 6(b) shows the condition of these parts after the electrical connection. Then, liquid resin is injected through the resin injection opening 14. When the resin hardens, the molds 11 and 12 are demolished and the front mask 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is manufactured. 
     In the above mentioned manufacturing process, electrical connection is made between the corresponding parts by the film insulated wire 8 after each part is set on the mounting portion 15. It is, however, possible to mount these parts as an integrated body at the predetermined position of the mold after forming the electrical connection between the corresponding parts by the film insulated wire 8, and before carrying out resin-molding. 
     In the front mask 10 which is taken out of the mold, the LED 2 and the connector 5 are integrally resin-molded with the mask main body 1. At this point in time, the film insulated wire 8 is also integrally resin-molded with the mask main body 1. As a result, the method according to the present invention does not involve the complicated work of printing on the narrow surface of the resin after molding like the conventional manufacturing method. This significantly improves operation in the manufacturing process of the front mask. 
     In addition, a higher degree of freedom is obtained with regard to the arrangement of each part of the front mask as compared with the conventional method since the connecting operation using the film insulated wire 8 can be made without restriction if there is a space provided between these parts. As a result, restrictions in operation of the design work of a display device with a front mask can be considerably reduced when compared to the conventional method. 
     Furthermore, since the film insulated wire 8 is employed in the process, it is possible to produce approximately the same level of thickness as that of the printing wire of the conventional method. This makes it possible to produce a unit not only compact in size, but also excellent in appearance. 
     As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of essential characteristic thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.