Patent Publication Number: US-2011051338-A1

Title: Display Apparatus

Description:
The Japanese patent application Number 2009-200863, upon which this patent application is based, is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a display apparatus with a waterproof structure. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In recent years, flat panel display apparatuses for outdoor installation have appeared. In order to install such an apparatus outside permanently, it is considered to form an accommodation chamber  110  inside a housing  100  having a waterproof structure to accommodate an image display panel  120  in the chamber  110  as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     In particular, the housing  100  comprises a front housing forming member  101  and a rear housing forming member  102  which are bonded together. The member  101  is made of a glass material and forms a front wall of the housing  100 . Between bonding surfaces of the two members  101 ,  102 , a seal member  130  is intervened so as to extend and surround the chamber  110 . A gasket made of silicon rubber or the like is employed as the member  130 . Therefore, the housing  100  has a waterproof structure which protects a space inside the chamber  110  from water, and as a result, the panel  120  in the chamber  110  is protected from weather and dust. 
     In the chamber  110 , the panel  120  is accommodated so that its screen  121  faces the front wall of the housing  100 . Therefore, the screen  121  of the panel  120  is viewable from outside of the housing  100  (i.e. front side of the housing  100 ) through the member  101  which is made of a glass material. 
     However, in the apparatus described above, when a large volume of water enters between the bonding surface of the members  101 ,  102  from outside of the housing  100 , some of the water might intrude into the chamber  110  via the member  130 . 
     In order to solve this problem, by employing an additional seal member  131  between the above mentioned bonding surfaces, it can prevent water from intruding into the chamber  110 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . However, in this structure, extra seal member is needed. Since the gasket used for these members  130 ,  131  is expensive, it increases manufacturing cost of the apparatus. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A display apparatus according to the present invention comprises a display panel; a housing provided with the display panel therein, wherein the housing includes a front housing member and a rear housing member, and the front housing member has an image display window in front of the display panel; a seal member provided between bonding surfaces of the front and the rear housing members so as to surround the display panel; and a groove provided along the seal member on the bonding surface of either the front housing member or the rear housing member. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a display apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention seen from a front side; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a housing included in the display apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the area A shown in  FIG. 2  seen from below; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view taken along the line B-B shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view showing an example of other display apparatus; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view showing another example of other display apparatus; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view taken along the line C-C shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is discussed in detail below with reference to drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the display apparatus comprises a housing  1 , a liquid crystal display panel  2  arranged inside the housing  1 , a support base  3  for supporting the housing  1 , and a cooling device  4 . To the support base  3 , casters are attached. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the housing  1  comprises a front housing member  11  and a rear housing member  12  which are bonded together, and the housing  1  has an accommodation chamber  5  in its inside. The chamber  5  is a space defined by bonding the members  11 ,  12 . Further, the member  11  forms a front wall of the housing  1  and the member  12  forms an upper wall, a lower wall, both side walls (i.e. left side wall and the right side wall) and a rear wall of the housing  1 . 
     In the chamber  5 , the panel  2  is accommodated with its screen  21  facing a generally horizontal direction and facing the front wall of the housing  1 . The member  11  is made of an optically transparent material such as a glass material. Thereby, an image display window, which enables the screen  21  to be viewable from outside the housing  1 , is constituted by a portion of the member  11  where it faces the screen  21 . The member  12  is made of a metal such as aluminum. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , a seal member  6  intervenes between a bonding surface of the members  11 ,  12 , so as to extend and surround the chamber  5 . A gasket made of silicon rubber or the like is employed as the member  6 . 
     Out of the bonding surfaces of the members  11  and  12 , on the bonding surface of the member  12 , a pair of grooves  7 ,  7  extending in a generally vertical direction along the member  6  on both sides of the screen  21  is provided. Both of the grooves  7 ,  7  are formed outside an area where the member  6  adheres. The grooves  7 ,  7  extend along the member  6  to a lower end surface  121  of the member  12 , and the end parts of the grooves  7 ,  7  forms an opening on the surface  121  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The cooling device  4  collects the heat in the chamber  5  to lower the temperature in the chamber  5 . 
     According to the apparatus described above, a gap between the bonding surfaces of the members  11 ,  12  is sealed by the member  6 . Therefore, a space inside the chamber  5  is sealed, and the housing  1  can have a waterproofing structure which protects the space inside the chamber  5  from water. 
     Since the space in the chamber  5  is thus sealed, it makes the panel  2  accommodated in the chamber  5  does not contact outside air easily. Therefore, the panel  2  in the chamber  5  is protected from weather and dust, during an outdoor installation of the apparatus. 
     On the other hand, when the space inside the chamber  5  is sealed, heat generated from the panel  2  stays inside the chamber  5 , and the temperature in the chamber  5  is easily raised. Thus, in the apparatus described above, the device  4  is provided in order to collect the heat inside the chamber  5 . Thus, the temperature increase in the chamber  5  is inhibited, and as a result, the temperature increase of the panel  2  is inhibited, so that the function of the panel  2  is maintained in normal state. 
     Also, in the apparatus described above, water which has entered between the bonding surfaces of the two members  11 ,  12  is captured by the pair of grooves  7 ,  7  before reaching the member  6 . Therefore, even if a large volume of water enters between the bonding surfaces, only a little water reaches the member  6 . Therefore, water hardly passes through the member  6  to intrude into the chamber  5 , and as a result, the housing  1  has a high waterproofing property. 
     Further, in the apparatus described above, water captured by the pair of grooves  7 ,  7  flows downward through inside the groove  7  due to gravity, and emitted outside the housing  1  through the end parts of the groove  7 . Therefore, even if the volume of water entering between the bonding surfaces of the members  11 ,  12  is large, water captured by the grooves  7 ,  7  does not easily leak out from the groove  7 , and as a result, the waterproofing property of the housing  1  does not deteriorate easily. 
     Further, according to the above described apparatus, since it only requires a forming of the pair of grooves  7 ,  7  in the member  12 , increase in the manufacturing cost for enhancing the waterproofing property of the housing  1  is reduced compared to the structure having the seal member  131  instead of the grooves  7 ,  7  as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     Therefore, according to the apparatus described above, a construction having a high waterproofing property is realized without an excessive increase of the manufacturing cost. 
     The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment in construction but can be modified variously within the technical range set forth in the appended claims. 
     For example, in the embodiment described above, the pair of grooves  7 ,  7  is provided only in the bonding surface of the member  12 , however, the present invention is not limited to this structure. The grooves  7 ,  7  may be provided only in the bonding surface of the member  11 , or the grooves  7 ,  7  may be provided in both the bonding surfaces of the two members  11 ,  12 . 
     The structure employed in the display apparatus described above can be applied not only to the display apparatus having the panel  2 , but also to display apparatuses with various image display panels such as a plasma display, or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.