Patent Publication Number: US-2019171253-A1

Title: Information processing device and fixture

Description:
This application is a continuation application based on a PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2017/037054, filed on Oct. 12, 2017, whose priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-204372, filed on Oct. 18, 2016. The entire content of both the above PCT International Application and the Japanese Application are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an information processing device including a display panel and a fixture configured to fix the display panel. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     Portability of information processing devices such as a notebook type personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a “notebook computer”) has been emphasized and miniaturization and thinning of information processing devices is progressing. For example, in order to reduce the thickness of an information processing device, a cable or the like of a wireless antenna formerly disposed on a rear surface of a display panel such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) may be configured to extend to a main body side along the inside of an edge of a display portion. In addition, a display portion may also be narrowed along with a decrease in width of an information processing device and a display panel may be configured to be installed at the vicinity of an edge of a display portion. For this reason, cables are required to be reliably fixed within a limited space such that they do not protrude. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-76938 describes a notebook computer in which a cable of an antenna or the like is disposed in a casing frame surrounding an outer circumference of a display panel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect, an information processing device includes: a display panel; a casing having the display panel enclosed therein; a rib provided at a predetermined interval from an edge of the casing and configured to position the display panel; and a fixture provided between the display panel and the rib, wherein the fixture includes a flange portion extending in a direction toward the edge of the casing from the fixture and configured to block movement of a cable wired between an edge of the casing and the rib. 
     According to another aspect, a fixture which is installed between a display panel and a rib in a casing and positions the display panel includes: a wall portion which is in contact with a part of a side surface of the display panel on one surface thereof and is in contact with the rib on the other surface opposite to the one surface; a receiving portion extending from one end portion of the wall portion to receive a rear surface of the display panel; and a flange portion extending from the other end portion of the wall portion toward a side opposite to the receiving portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an information processing device in the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a display section in the information processing device in the disclosure with an upper lid which has been removed. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial perspective view of a portion A in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a portion shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5A  is an exploded perspective view of a display section in an information processing device in a comparative technique with an upper lid which has been removed. 
         FIG. 5B  is a perspective view showing a structure for positioning of the display panel. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7A  is a perspective view of a fixture used in the information processing device in the disclosure when viewed obliquely from above. 
         FIG. 7B  is a perspective view of the fixture when viewed obliquely from below. 
         FIG. 8A  is a diagram showing another example of the fixture, which is a perspective view of the fixture when viewed obliquely from above. 
         FIG. 8B  is a diagram showing yet another example of the fixture, which is a perspective view of the fixture when viewed obliquely from below. 
         FIG. 9  is a partial perspective view of the casing in the information processing device, which is a diagram showing a shape of a rib. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the fixture. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific examples using the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in the following examples, the same or similar constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals and the sizes thereof may be appropriately changed in the drawings in order to facilitate understanding. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a notebook computer  100  which is an example of an information processing device in an embodiment. The notebook computer  100  includes a main body device  101  and a display portion  102  which is opened and closed via a hinge at a rear end portion of the main body device  101 .  FIG. 1  shows a state in which the display portion  102  is open. 
     A circuit board having electronic parts such as a CPU (central processing unit) (not shown) installed therein is accommodated inside the main body device  101 . An input apparatus such as a keyboard and a touch panel is provided above an upper surface of the main body device  101 . The display portion  102  includes a display panel  3  which is a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a casing  2  having the display panel  3  accommodated therein. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the inside of the display portion  102  in the notebook computer  100  and is a diagram showing a state in which an upper lid (not shown) of the display portion  102  has been removed.  FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial perspective view of a portion A in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the display panel  3  is formed in a rectangular shape as a whole. A rib  4  (refer to  FIG. 4 ) disposed at a predetermined interval from an edge portion  21  (refer to  FIG. 3 ) of the casing  2  and configured to position the display panel  3  is formed in the casing  2 . The display panel  3  is fitted between four fixtures  5  provided between the display panel  3  and the ribs  4  at its four corners and is positioned in the casing  2 . A cable  6  configured to connect the display panel, an antenna, a camera, and the like to the main body device  101  is wired between the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  and the ribs  4  around the display panel  3 . Since functions and structures of the fixtures  5  disposed at the four corners of the display panel  3  are the same, the fixtures  5  shown in a portion A in  FIG. 2  will be described later. 
     Here, a notebook computer which is an information processing device in a comparative technique will be described with reference to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B .  FIG. 5A  is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a display portion  202  in the notebook computer in the comparative technique and  FIG. 5B  is an enlarged diagram of a portion B in  FIG. 5A , which is a partial perspective view showing a structure of positioning of the display panel  3 . 
     The display panel  3  in the comparative technique is enclosed in the casing  2  in the display portion  202 . As shown in  FIG. 5B , the display panel  3  has its four corners positioned by sponges  62  adhered to ribs  61  provided in the display portion  202 . Moreover, in the notebook computer in the comparative technique, the cable  6  extends between the ribs  61  and the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  along the circumference of the display panel  3 . Since the cable  6  is bent along the ribs  61 , the cable  6  tends to ride over the ribs  61  due to a bending reaction force of the cable  6  itself and the lifting of the cable  6  increases particularly in the vicinity of the four corners of the display panel  3 . In the notebook computer in the comparative technique, this lifting up is prevented by providing double-sided tape  63  on sides of the ribs  61  at the four corners of the display panel  3  and adhering the cable  6  onto the double-sided tape  63  in some cases. Here, it may be difficult to adhere the cable  6  onto the double-sided tape  63  depending on a surface treatment performed on an outer layer of the cable  6  such as a coaxial cable or the like. Furthermore, when assembling the display portion  202 , very detailed work in which the sponges  62  are adhered to the ribs  61  of the display portion  202  or the double-sided tape  63  is adhered to the casing to fix the cable  6  is required. 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the notebook computer  100  in the embodiment includes a flange portion  51  provided to extend from the fixtures  5  in a direction toward an edge of the casing  2  (arrow C), that is, the edge portion  21  of the casing  2 , when the display panel  3  is positioned in the casing  2 . For this reason, movement of the cable  6  wired between the ribs  4  and the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  is blocked by the flange portion  51 . Thus, lifting up of the cable  6  is prevented. For example the cable  6  protruding from the ribs  4  and the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  is prevented when assembling the display portion  102 . Since the lifting up of the cable  6  is prevented, the cable  6  is not sandwiched between the casing  2  and the upper lid when attaching the upper lid. 
     Each of the fixtures  5  includes a wall portion  52  and the wall portion  52  is in contact with a part of a side surface  31  of the display panel  3  on one surface  52   c  and is in contact with the rib  4  on the other surface  52   d  opposite to the one surface  52   c . Furthermore, the fixture  5  has a receiving portion  53  extending from one end portion  52   a  of the wall portion  52  to receive a rear surface  32  of the display panel  3 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the flange portion  51  in the fixture  5  extends from the other end portion  52   b  of the wall portion  52  toward a side opposite to the receiving portion  53 . The fixture  5  further includes a protruding portion  54   a  protruding from the flange portion  51  toward the rib  4  and configured to sandwich the rib  4  in cooperation with the wall portion  52 . 
       FIG. 6  shows the flange portion  51  and the wall portion  52  which is in contact with a part of the side surface  31  in a short side direction of the display panel  3 . As shown in  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , the wall portion  52  which is in contact with the side surface  33  (refer to  FIG. 4 ) in a long side direction of the display panel  3  are formed on the fixture  5  and the protruding portion  54   b  (hereinafter, the protruding portions  54   a  and  54   b  are collectively referred to as a protruding portion  54  in some cases). 
     When manufacturing the notebook computer  100 , a manufacturer causes the cable  6  to extend along a groove between the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  and the rib  4 . After that, the manufacturer installs the fixture  5  so that the rib  4  is inserted between the protruding portion  54  and the wall portion  52 , that is, the rib  4  is sandwiched between the protruding portion  54  and the wall portion  52 . It is possible for the manufacturer to easily fix the fixture  5  to the casing  2  by causing the rib  4  to be sandwiched between the protruding portion  54  and the wall portion  52 . 
     The fixture  5  in the embodiment is a molded article made of rubber. Furthermore, the fixture  5  may be formed of a resin. As shown in  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B , the fixture  5   a  may be formed through two color molding in which one portion at which the fixtures  5  and the display panel  3  are in contact with each other, specifically hatched portions in  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B , is made of rubber and the other portions are made of a resin. 
     Although a plurality of sponges or double-sided tapes are used to position the display panel  3  and the cable  6  in the casing  2  in the notebook computer in the comparative technique shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , it is possible to position the display panel  3  using only the four fixtures  5  disposed at the four corners in the embodiment. For this reason, it is then possible to reduce the number of parts. Furthermore, since the fixture  5  can also be installed by fitting the protruding portion  54  and the wall portion  52  to the rib  4 , it is unnecessary to perform detailed work such as adhering the sponges  62  to the rib  61  as in the notebook computer in the comparative technique. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a shape of the rib  4  formed in the casing  2 . The rib  4  is formed to have an L shape in a planar view to correspond to the four corners of the display panel to position the display panel  3 . That is to say, the rib  4  is formed as continuous bodies such as ribs  4   a  and  4   b  to face the orthogonal side surfaces  31  and  33  of a corner of the display panel  3 . Furthermore, a pair of projecting portions  41   a  and  41   b  provided in accordance with widths of the protruding portions  54   a  and  54   b  are provided to facilitate the fitting of the protruding portions  54   a  and  54   b  in the fixture  5  shown in  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B . The positioning of the fixture  5  is facilitated by forming the projecting portions  41   a  and  41   b.    
     Also, a length L 1  (refer to  FIG. 6 ) of the flange portion  51  extending in an edge direction from the wall portion  52  of the fixture  5  is determined by a length L 0  between the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  and the rib  4 . The length L 1  may be provided to be substantially equal to a length in which the flange portion  51  is in contact with the edge portion  21 , that is, L 0 . Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 6 , for example, when a distance between the edge portion  21  and a distal end of the flange portion  51  is a distance smaller than a diameter of the cable  6 , the length L 1  of the flange portion  51  may be formed to be shorter than the length L 0  between the edge portion  21  of the casing  2  and the rib  4 . In addition, as in the protruding portion  54   c  in the fixture  5   a  shown in  FIG. 10 , a cross-sectional shape of an outer side of the protruding portion  54   c  is formed to have a corrugated shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape of the cable  6  so that a position of the cable  6  is prevented from deviating when installing the fixture  5   a . It should be noted that, although the notebook computer is shown as an example of the information processing device in the embodiment, the information processing device may be any device having a display panel used therein, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, and the like. 
     The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof.