Patent Publication Number: US-2007121026-A1

Title: Liquid crystal display with high-profile elastic gasket

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to liquid crystal displays, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display having an elastic gasket.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) generally have advantages of lightness in weight, a thin profile, flexible sizing, and low power consumption. For these reasons, LCDs are widely used in products such as laptops, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, and so on.  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , a conventional liquid crystal display  1  includes a front frame  13 , a rear frame  16 , a substantially rectangular elastic gasket  17 , a liquid crystal panel  14 , and a housing  12  defining an opening (not labeled) at a position corresponding to the liquid crystal panel  14 .  
      The elastic gasket  17  has an L-shaped through slit  172  commonly defined in one long side and one short side thereof. The elastic gasket  17  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  14 , and is received in the front and rear frames  13 ,  16 . The housing  12  receives the gasket  17 , the liquid crystal panel  14 , and the front and rear frames  13 ,  16 .  
      The liquid crystal panel  14  includes a first substrate  141  joined on a second substrate  143 . A size of the second substrate  143  is larger than that of the first substrate  141 , whereby an L-shaped bonding part  144  is defined at two adjacent sides of the second substrate  143 . A plurality of connecting members  147  each having a driving chip  148  disposed thereon connects the bonding part  144  with an L-shaped circuit board assembly  145  provided adjacent to the bonding part  144 . The rear frame  16  includes a protrusion  161  at a corner thereof. The protrusion  161  is positioned according to a through hole  176  of an extension block  174  provided at a corner of the elastic gasket  17 .  
      A process of assembling the liquid crystal display  1  is as follows. Firstly, the liquid crystal panel  14  is surrounded by and fixed within the elastic gasket  17 , such that the circuit board assembly  145  protrudes out through the slit  172  of the elastic gasket  17 . Secondly, the combined elastic gasket  17  and liquid crystal panel  14  are received in the rear frame  16 . The protrusion  161  of the rear frame  16  is wedged in the through hole  176  of the extension part  174 , thereby facilitating fixing of the elastic gasket  17  in the rear frame  16 . Thirdly, the front and rear frames  13 ,  16  are engaged with each other, and the combined front and rear frames  13 ,  16  are received in the housing  12 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 8 , this is an assembled view of the liquid crystal display  1 , but not showing the housing  12  thereof. Also referring to  FIG. 9 , this is an enlarged cross-sectional taken along line IX-IX of  FIG. 8 . As seen, a top portion of the elastic gasket  17  is flush with a top portion of the rear frame  16 , and said top portion contacts an underside of the front frame  13  and a bottom inner side of the rear frame  16 . The elastic gasket  17  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  14 , and provides a buffer between the liquid crystal panel  14  and the front and rear frames  13 ,  16 . However, the underside of the front frame  13  and the top portion of the rear frame  16  abut each other. Therefore if the liquid crystal display  1  sustains external impact, either of the front and rear frames  13 ,  16  may cause damage to the other.  
      Referring to  FIG. 10 , another kind of conventional liquid crystal display  2  is similar to the above-described liquid crystal display  1 . However, the liquid crystal display  2  includes a frame  26 , a substantially rectangular elastic gasket  27 , a liquid crystal panel  24 , and a housing  22  defining an opening (not labeled) at a position corresponding to the liquid crystal panel  24 . The elastic gasket  27  has an L-shaped through slit (not labeled) commonly defined in one long side and one short side thereof. The elastic gasket  27  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  24 , and is received in the frame  26  and the housing  22 . Compared to the above-described liquid crystal display  1 , the liquid crystal display  2  reduces the number of frames from two to one, so that a profile of the liquid crystal display  2  is reduced.  
       The elastic gasket  27  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  24  and provides a buffer between the liquid crystal panel  24  and the frame  26 . However, the housing  22  and the frame  26  abut each other. Therefore if the liquid crystal display  2  sustains external impact, either of the frame  26  and the housing  22  may cause damage to the other.  
      Accordingly, what is needed is a liquid crystal display configured to be able to provide satisfactory buffering between various of components thereof.  
     SUMMARY  
      An exemplary liquid crystal display includes an elastic gasket, a liquid crystal panel, a frame, and a housing. The liquid crystal panel is surrounded by the elastic gasket. The liquid crystal panel and the elastic gasket are received in the frame. A top of the elastic gasket is higher than a top of the frame. The housing receives the frame, the elastic gasket, and the liquid crystal panel. An underside of a top wall of the housing abuts the top of the elastic gasket and be spaced from the top of the frame.  
      A detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the drawings, all the views are schematic.  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a liquid crystal display in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an assembled view of the liquid crystal display of  FIG. 1 , but not showing a housing thereof.  
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of an elastic gasket of a liquid crystal display according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an elastic gasket of a liquid crystal display according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is an isometric view of an elastic gasket and a frame of a liquid crystal display according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is an exploded, isometric view of a conventional liquid crystal display.  
       FIG. 8  is an assembled view of the liquid crystal display of  FIG. 7 , but not showing a housing thereof.  
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of  FIG. 8 .  
       FIG. 10  is an exploded, isometric view of another conventional liquid crystal display. 
    
    
      DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to FIGS.  1  to  3 , a liquid crystal display  3  in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention includes a frame  36 , a substantially rectangular elastic gasket  37 , and a housing  32  having an opening  321  at a position corresponding to the liquid crystal panel  34 .  
      The elastic gasket  37  is made from silicone rubber. The elastic gasket  37  has an L-shaped through slit  372  commonly defined in one long side and one short side thereof, and a slit  376  in an inner wall of an opposite long side thereof. The elastic gasket  37  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  34 , and is received in the housing  32  and the frame  36 .  
      The liquid crystal panel  34  includes a first substrate  341  joined on a second substrate  343 . A size of the second substrate  343  is larger than that of the first substrate  341 , whereby an L-shaped bonding part  344  is defined at two adjacent sides of the second substrate  343 . A plurality of connecting members  347  each having a driving chip  348  disposed thereon connects the bonding part  344  with an L-shaped circuit board assembly  345  provided adjacent to the bonding part  344 . The frame  36  includes a protrusion  361  at a corner thereof. The protrusion  361  is positioned according to a through hole  375  of an extension block  374  provided at a corner of the elastic gasket  37 .  
      A process of assembly of the liquid crystal display  3  is as follows. Firstly, the liquid crystal panel  34  is surrounded by and fixed within the elastic gasket  37 , such that the circuit board assembly  345  protrudes out through the slit  372  of the elastic gasket  37 , and one long side of the liquid crystal panel  34  is received in the slit  376  of the elastic gasket  37 . Secondly, the elastic gasket  37  and the liquid crystal panel  34  are received in the frame  36 . The protrusion  361  is wedged in the through hole  375  of the extension block  374 , thereby facilitating fixing of the elastic gasket  37  in the frame  36 . Thirdly, the frame  36  is received in the housing  33 . A top portion of the elastic gasket  37  is higher than a top portion of the frame  36  after the elastic gasket  37  and frame  36  are attached together. The elastic gasket  37  surrounds the liquid crystal panel  34 , and provides a buffer between an underside of the housing  32  and the frame  36 , between the housing  32  and the liquid crystal panel  34 , and between the frame  36  and the liquid crystal panel  34 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , this shows an elastic gasket  57  of a liquid crystal display in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The elastic gasket  57  is made from silicone rubber, and is similar to the above-described elastic gasket  37 . However, the elastic gasket  57  has a gap  575  in one short side thereof. The gap  575  enables a liquid crystal panel (not shown) of the liquid crystal display to be easily attached in the elastic gasket  57 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , this shows an elastic gasket  67  of a liquid crystal display in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. The elastic gasket  67  is made from silicone rubber, and is similar to the above-described elastic gasket  37 . However, the elastic gasket  67  has a U-shaped frame structure. This configuration enables a liquid crystal panel (not shown) of the liquid crystal display to be easily attached in the elastic gasket  67 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , this shows an elastic gasket  77  and a frame  76  of a liquid crystal display in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The elastic gasket  77  is made from silicone rubber, and is similar to the above-described elastic gasket  37 . However, the elastic gasket  77  includes a plurality of protuberances  771  extending from outside walls of one long side and one short side thereof, which sides are opposite to the long side and the short side having the L-shaped slit (not labeled). Correspondingly, the frame  76  defines a plurality of blind holes  763  in one long inner side  761  and one short inner side (not labeled) thereof. In assembly, the protuberances  771  are wedged in the blind holes  763 , thereby facilitating fixing of the elastic gasket  77  in the frame  76 .  
      In an alternative embodiment, the protuberances  771  can be formed on the frame  76 , and the blind holes  763  can be defined in the elastic gasket  77  at positions according to the protuberances  771 . In another alternative embodiment, there can be only a single protuberance  771  and a single blind hole  763 .  
      While various examples and preferred embodiments have been described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, the above description is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.