Patent Publication Number: US-2011050641-A1

Title: Display module

Description:
This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 098215658 filed on Aug. 25, 2009, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a display module, and in particular, to a display module with an optical touch system. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a conventional optical touch display module  10  comprises a liquid crystal display panel (LCD panel)  11 , a reflective strip  12  and an optical sensing member  13 . The reflective strip  12  and the optical sensing member  13  are directly adhered on the fringe of the surface of the LCD panel  11  in order to set the optical sensing member  13  and the reflective strip  12  on the same horizontal level due to the flat surface of the LCD panel  11 . Therefore, the optical sensing member  13  may detect the reflected light beam from the reflective strip  12  to determine whether a contact point exists on the LCD panel  11 . However, during the operation of the display module  10 , the user must touch the LCD panel  11  for inputting, which may deform the LCD panel  11  due to the external force F (from the touch of the user). As shown in  FIG. 1B , when the LCD panel  11  is deformed, the surface of the LCD panel  11  (i.e. horizontal level) where the reflective strip  12  and the optical sensing member  13  are disposed on is twisted, causing the reflective strip  12  and the optical sensing member  13  to shift and rotate relatively to each other. As a result, the optical sensing member  13  cannot properly detect the reflected light beam from the reflective strip  12 , and thus miscalculation of the touched location may occur. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A display module is provided. The display module comprises a housing, a display panel, a frame, a camera module, and a reflective strip. The display panel is disposed in the housing. The frame is disposed between the housing and the display panel to limit a position of the display panel. The camera module and the reflective strip are disposed on the frame and on a same horizontal level based on the frame. When the display panel is deformed, the camera module and the reflective strip remain on the same horizontal level. 
     Another display module is provided. The display module comprises a housing, a frame, a display panel, a camera module and a reflective strip. The housing, comprises an upper housing and a lower housing. The frame, disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing, comprises a body, an inner surface and a lower surface. The display panel is disposed between the lower housing and the frame contacting the lower surface. The camera module is disposed on the lower surface of the frame. The reflective strip is disposed on the inner surface of the frame. When the display panel is deformed, the display panel is separated from the lower surface. 
     A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are sectional views of a conventional display module; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a display module of the invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is a bottom view showing a display panel and a frame of the display module of the invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view of a portion A in  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a variant embodiment of the frame of the display module; and 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view showing the frame, the display panel, a reflective strip and a camera module of the display module of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the display module  100  of the invention comprises a housing  200 , a display panel  300 , a frame  400 , a camera module  500  and a reflective strip  600 , wherein the housing  200  comprises an upper housing  201  and a lower housing  202 , and the display panel  300 , the frame  400 , the camera module  500  and the reflective strip  600  are all disposed between the upper housing  201  and the lower housing  202 . Each camera module  500  comprises an optical sensing member. 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  show a bottom view of the frame  400 . The frame  400  comprises a body  410  and four flanges  420 . The body  410  is U-shaped and defines a space for placing the display panel  300  within. The body  410  has an inner surface  410 S and a lower surface  410 D. Additionally, on the two ends of the body  410 , two recesses  411  are respectively formed thereon. The recess  411  and the four flanges  420  are formed on the lower surface  410 D of the body  410 , wherein two of the flanges  420  are disposed on the two ends of the body  410  respectively, and the other two flanges  420  are disposed on two corners of the U-shaped body  410 . Each flange  420  extends perpendicularly from the body  410 , thus each flange  420  is perpendicular to a flat surface formed by the U-shaped body  410  (as shown in  FIG. 3B ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  again, the display panel  300  is disposed in the housing  200  and the frame  400  is also disposed in the housing  200 . In detail, the frame  400  is disposed between the upper housing  201  and the display panel  300 , thus the inner surface  410 S of the body  410  is adjacent to the display panel  300 . The camera module  500  is disposed on the body  410 , and two optical members are respectively disposed in the recesses  411  on the two ends of the frame  400 . The reflective strip  600  is adhered on the inner surface  410 S of the body  410  to be adjacent to the display panel  300 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3A , when the frame  400  is disposed on the display panel  300 , the position of the display panel  300  is limited between the flanges  420 . In other words, the frame  400  does not move relative to the display panel  300  due to the engagement between the flanges  420  and the display panel  300 . 
     It should be noted that in the embodiment there are four flanges  420  respectively disposed on the ends and corners of the body  410 , but it is not limited thereto. The number of the flanges  420  is determined according to requirement, and the flanges  420  can also disposed along the fringe of the body  410 , as long as the frame  400  does not move on the display panel  300 . Additionally, in the embodiment the frame  400  is U-shaped. Otherwise, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the frame  400  can also be rectangular-shaped to enhance the structural stability. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , after assembling, the frame  400  is stably disposed between the upper housing  201  and the display panel  300 , and the lower surface  410 D of the frame  400  contacts of faces the display panel  300 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , because the frame  400  is not fixed on the display panel  300 , the frame  400  would not be deformed when the display panel  300  is deformed (i.e. the display panel  300  is separated from the lower surface  410 D of the frame  400 ) by an external force. Thus, the camera module  500  and the reflective strip  600  can remain on the same horizontal level based on the frame  400 . That is, the horizontal level based on the frame  400  where the camera module  500  and the reflective strip  600  are disposed on would not be changed while the display panel  300  is deformed, thus avoiding shift or rotation between the camera module  500  and the reflective strip  600 . As a result, the camera module  500  can properly detect the light beam above the display panel  300 , and thus miscalculation of the touched location can be avoided. 
     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it 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.