Patent Description:
Contents described in this section simply provide background information for the present embodiment and do not constitute prior art.

A cluster provides various types of information related to a travel state of a vehicle to a driver as visual information. A speed of the vehicle, an engine RPM, a fuel amount, a thermometer, and various warnings are displayed. In addition, a display installed in a center fascia provides various additional convenient information including a navigation to the driver. As the vehicle becomes smarter, an amount of information provided by the cluster increases.

On the other hand, light is introduced into the cluster of the traveling vehicle from various angles and the light is reflected toward a line of sight of the driver, making it difficult to grasp instrument panel information. In general, a shielding wall surrounding the cluster and protruding in a direction of the driver significantly reduces an amount of light entering the instrument panel. However, compared to a conventional analog-type cluster, the display for the vehicle is more likely to reflect stray light that hinders driver's identification of the instrument panel because a liquid crystal display module thereof is disposed over a large area.

Most of popular displays for the vehicle are still in a flat shape, but starting with high-end vehicles, large glass lenses that reduce the effect of the reflected light and improve visibility because of a three-dimensional curved front lens are being applied. The glass lens is easy to secure an optical performance in harsh vehicle environments such as temperature, humidity, and vibration, but a high manufacturing cost for three-dimensional molding is pointed out as an obstacle to popularization.

<CIT> discloses a dual-display digital cluster for use with a vehicle, which includes a plastic lens having a plurality of curvatures, super retardation films (SRFs) adhered to a plurality of positions on a rear surface of the plastic lens by using an optically clear adhesive (OCA), a plurality of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) each adhered to rear surfaces of the super retardation films by using an optically clear resin (OCR), a carrier bezel configured to be assembled to a rear side of the plastic lens, to support the plurality of LCDs closely, and to prevent the plastic lens from being deformed, a rear cover assembled to a rear side of the carrier bezel, and at least one printed circuit board (PCB) disposed between the carrier bezel and the rear cover.

According to the invention a display for a vehicle is provided. The display comprises:.

The rear film includes a black masking layer printed on the rear surface of the lens excluding a window area corresponding to a position of the liquid crystal display module.

According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the three-dimensional shape may be easily implemented by applying the plastic cover lens as the lens for the display for the vehicle.

According to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the manufacturing costs may be significantly reduced by reducing the gate wash-out caused by the insert mold labeling (IML) scheme via the placement of the black masking layer on the rear surface of the plastic cover lens of the display for the vehicle.

Throughout the present document, when a component is referred to as "including" another component, it implies a presence of the latter component, along with a possibility of additional components, unless otherwise stated.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view of a display for a vehicle including a plastic cover lens according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, a display <NUM> for a vehicle including a plastic cover lens according to one embodiment includes a plastic cover lens <NUM>, an optical bonding layer <NUM>, a liquid crystal display module <NUM>, a panel-front <NUM>, brackets <NUM> and <NUM>, and a rear cover <NUM>.

As the display <NUM> for the vehicle, a console display that displays various convenient information such as a navigation is disposed in a cluster and a center fascia that display a basic state of the vehicle. A case in which the display <NUM> for the vehicle includes the plastic cover lens <NUM> and is disposed across the cluster and the center fascia in front of a driver will be exemplified. The plastic cover lens <NUM> having a plurality of curvatures is disposed on an outermost surface of the display <NUM> for the vehicle toward the driver, that is, at a front portion of the display <NUM> for the vehicle.

The plastic cover lens <NUM> includes a lens <NUM>, a front film <NUM> disposed on a front surface of the lens, which is the outermost surface toward the driver, and a rear film <NUM> disposed on a rear surface of the lens.

The lens <NUM> may be manufactured by high fluidity PC clear injection molding. The front film <NUM> including anti-reflection (AR) and anti-fingerprint (AF) coating layers is disposed on the front surface of the lens <NUM> by vacuum deposition. The front film <NUM> may be formed to realize hardness and transparency of the plastic cover lens <NUM>.

The rear film <NUM> is disposed on the rear surface of the lens <NUM>, and the rear film includes a black masking layer. In this regard, the black masking layer is printed except for a window area corresponding to a position of the liquid crystal display (LCD) module.

The plastic cover lens <NUM> exhibits an excellent optical property by molding the front film and a second film in a predetermined shape, inserting a first film into an upper core of a mold and inserting the rear film into a lower core of the mold, and performing compression molding during injection. The plastic cover lens <NUM> has an effect of reducing reflection of stray light by applying compression injection to minimize birefringence.

For example, the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed in an insert mold labeling (IML) scheme. In this scheme, the front film and the rear film <NUM> and <NUM> are molded into a shape of the lens 12beforehand, then inserted into the mold, and then finally molded with plastic inserted from the rear. In such manner, a hard coated film material may be used, so that a considerable level of abrasion resistance may be secured. In addition, because the different films may be manufactured using the same plastic cover lens mold, a variety of products may be manufactured in small quantities.

For example, the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed in an injection-compression molding (ICM) scheme. The injection-compression molding may be performed along with the insert mold labeling. Therefore, after the molding of the plastic cover lens <NUM>, a density of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be maintained more uniformly throughout a body and a residual stress of the injection-molded product resulted from a difference in a cooling speed depending on a shape of the lens and a structure of the mold may be minimized.

Because the black masking layer of the plastic cover lens <NUM> is located on the rear film <NUM>, a gate wash-out problem caused by the insert mold labeling scheme may be prevented from occurring.

The optical bonding layer <NUM> may include an optically clear adhesive (OCA) <NUM> and a super retardation film (SRF) <NUM>.

The optically clear adhesive <NUM> may be disposed on a rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> to be optically in contact with a liquid crystal display (LCD). The super retardation film <NUM> may be disposed between the optically clear adhesive <NUM> and the liquid crystal display (LCD).

On a front surface of the liquid crystal display, polarization may be applied and utilized in a complex manner to enhance a clarity, a viewing angle, and the like. When the driver wears sunglasses with a polarization function and looks at the liquid crystal display, a rainbow-shaped distortion may occur in an image displayed on the liquid crystal display because of the complex polarization states. Internal stress in the plastic cover lens <NUM> causes a phase shift in transmitted light, resulting in increased birefringence and making such distortion more pronounced. In the present embodiment, to reduce such phenomenon, the super retardation film <NUM> may be bonded to the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> via direct bonding using the optically clear adhesive (OCA) <NUM>. In such manner, the plastic cover lens <NUM> and the super retardation film <NUM> may act as one optical element.

Therefore, the liquid crystal display <NUM> may be bonded a rear surface of the super retardation film <NUM> using the optically clear adhesive (OCA) such that the liquid crystal display to the plastic cover lens <NUM> act as one optical element and reflection at a bonding surface is minimized. The optically clear adhesive <NUM> may be disposed on the rear surface of the super retardation film <NUM> or on a front surface of the liquid crystal display and the liquid crystal display may be attached to the rear surface of the super retardation film <NUM> to bond the liquid crystal display to the super retardation film <NUM>.

The liquid crystal display module <NUM> may include the liquid crystal display (LCD) and a back light unit (BLU).

Because a front surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> and the injection-molded product are transparent, an assembly cannot be placed on the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM>, so that the panel-front <NUM> and the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be bonded together using an adhesive <NUM>.

The panel-front <NUM> is formed to have high structural rigidity and is coupled to the plastic cover lens <NUM> to maintain a design shape of the plastic cover lens <NUM>. A remaining area of the rear surface of the panel-front <NUM> except for a pocket area formed to accommodate the liquid crystal display therein may be formed such that the panel-front <NUM> may have sufficiently high rigidity against bending while seeking weight reduction.

The bracket <NUM> may be disposed on a rear surface of the panel-front to strengthen structural integrity and reinforce rigidity against head-impact. For example, the bracket <NUM> may be made of a steel material.

The rear cover <NUM> may be formed to expose rear surfaces of upper ends of an installed structure and the display <NUM> for the vehicle.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a display for a vehicle including a plastic cover lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the front film <NUM> including a hard coating layer and a clear layer may be disposed on the front surface of the molded plastic cover lens <NUM>.

Any coating composition capable of improving a surface hardness of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be used as the hard coating layer, but it is preferable to use an ultraviolet curable coating composition that does not require high-temperature treatment. The hard coating layer may contain an acrylate-based monomer or an inorganic compound. The hard coating layer serves to improve the surface hardness and at the same time increase chemical resistance of the plastic cover lens <NUM>.

A protective layer may be disposed on the hard coating layer. The protective layer may be a functional coating layer including the anti-fingerprint coating layer (AF), the anti-reflection (AR) coating layer, and the like.

The AR coating layer may be formed to secure light transmittance of the plastic cover lens <NUM> and reduce reflectance of the plastic cover lens <NUM> (e.g., to be lower than <NUM> %). The AR coating layer may have a structure in which a plurality of media having different densities are stacked. Incident light may be reflected at each interface between two media, superposed each other in different phases, and then cancelled, thereby reducing a final reflected amount of light.

The AF coating layer prevents contamination of a surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> based n use of the user, so that visibility is not deteriorated.

The rear film <NUM> including the black masking layer and an active area corresponding to the liquid crystal display may be disposed on the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM>.

Such plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed using the insert mold labeling scheme to include the front film 11and the rear film <NUM>.

The plastic cover lens <NUM> according to one embodiment may be formed by printing or pattern-forming the front film 11and the rear film <NUM> in advance to partially have a pattern on the front surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> molded via the insert mold labeling. For example, an area where the liquid crystal display is disposed may be made transparent so as to have excellent light transmittance, while the remaining area may be treated to be opaque or translucent.

The optical bonding layer <NUM> disposed on the active area of the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be composed of the front optically clear adhesive <NUM> in direct contact with the rear film <NUM>, the super retardation film <NUM> disposed on a rear surface of the front optically clear adhesive, and the rear optically clear adhesive <NUM> disposed on a rear surface of the super retardation film <NUM>.

The liquid crystal display module <NUM> bonded to the plastic cover lens <NUM> and the optical bonding layer <NUM> may include the liquid crystal display and the backlight unit. In this regard, an area of a LCD panel may partially overlap an area of the optical bonding layer <NUM>.

In addition, the display for the vehicle may include a carrier-bezel <NUM> disposed on the rear surface of the black masking layer of the rear surface of the plastic cover lens <NUM> and mechanically coupled to an edge of the plastic cover lens <NUM> to firmly maintain the shape of the plastic cover lens <NUM>.

The carrier-bezel <NUM> may be bonded by disposing an adhesive tape <NUM> on an area of the plastic cover lens <NUM> excluding the area where the liquid crystal display is disposed. The adhesive tape <NUM> may be adhered to at least a portion of the rear surface of the plastic cover lens to couple the plastic cover lens <NUM> and the carrier-bezel <NUM> to each other.

For example, in the plastic cover lens <NUM>, the black masking layer is located on a front side compared to that in a glass lens and a gap between the black masking layer and the LCD panel is reduced during operation of the liquid crystal display, thereby reducing a depth of the LCD.

For example, the plastic cover lens <NUM> needs a gap for assembly in a front surface of the panel-front <NUM> to prevent exposure of a corner thereof, and a significant increase in processing cost is required to realize such a corner. However, in the plastic cover lens <NUM>, such a shape may be implemented relatively inexpensively.

<FIG> is a diagram for illustrating coupling of a display including a plastic cover lens having a plurality of curvatures according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the corner of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed to have a curvature. Therefore, the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be assembled in the display <NUM> for the vehicle integrally up to the corners thereof without any gaps. Such corners may contribute to preventing the display <NUM> for the vehicle from being easily damaged by the head-impact applied to the display <NUM> for the vehicle when the vehicle collides.

The illustrated example shows a case in which the corner of the plastic cover lens <NUM> has a curvature of R2. The curvature may have a value within a range from R2 to R3 when necessary, but may not be necessarily limited to such range. That is, the corner of the plastic cover lens may be rounded with a radius in a range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In the case of the glass lens, the gap for the assembly is required in the front surface of the panel-front <NUM> to prevent the exposure of the corner thereof and the significant increase in the processing cost is required to realize such a corner. However, in the plastic cover lens <NUM>, such a shape may be implemented relatively inexpensively.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a plastic cover lens having a plurality of curvatures according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the plastic cover lens <NUM> having the plurality of curvatures may be disposed on the outermost surface of the display for the vehicle toward the driver.

The display <NUM> for the vehicle may include a first area located at a left side and a second area located at a right side when viewed by the driver. Because the display <NUM> for the vehicle is located on a right side when viewed by the driver, the display <NUM> may have a slightly more curved shape toward the driver. That is, the second area of the plastic cover lens <NUM> may have the slightly more curved shape toward the driver based on the first area. A bent portion <NUM> having a relatively small radius of curvature is formed between the first and second areas <NUM> and <NUM>, so that the second area <NUM> faces the driver.

Therefore, in the plastic cover lens <NUM>, a first radius of curvature may be applied such that a radius of curvature of the bent portion is greater than a radius of curvature of the first area, and a radius of curvature of the second area is greater than the radius of curvature of the bent portion.

The plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed to be gently bent with a first radius of curvature <NUM> (e.g., R9000 or R12000) in a horizontal direction, and the plastic cover lens <NUM> may be formed such that a second radius of curvature <NUM> (e.g., R1800) is also applied in a vertical direction of the plastic cover lens <NUM> so as to become a concave lens and a third radius of curvature <NUM> is also applied to the corner of the plastic cover lens <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A display for a vehicle, comprising:
a plastic cover lens (<NUM>) including a lens (<NUM>) of PC clear, a front film (<NUM>) disposed on a front surface of the lens (<NUM>),
a super retardation film, SRF, (<NUM>) adhered to a rear surface of the plastic cover lens (<NUM>) using a front optically clear adhesive, OCA (<NUM>);
a liquid crystal display module (<NUM>) adhered to a rear surface of the super retardation film (<NUM>) using a rear optically clear adhesive (<NUM>);
a panel-front (<NUM>) assembled at the rear of the plastic cover lens (<NUM>), in close contact with and supporting the liquid crystal display module (<NUM>), and preventing deformation of the plastic cover lens (<NUM>); and
a rear cover (<NUM>) assembled at the rear of the panel-front (<NUM>),
characterized in that
a rear film (<NUM>) is disposed on a rear surface of the lens (<NUM>) and the rear film (<NUM>) includes a black masking layer printed on the rear surface of the lens (<NUM>) excluding a window area corresponding to a position of the liquid crystal display module (<NUM>).