Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a spacer for an assembly of a backlight of a display. The disclosure additionally relates to an assembly for a backlight of a display having such a spacer, and to a display having a backlight having such an assembly. The spacer comprises at least one crosspiece. The crosspiece in this case has attachment surfaces for attachment of a first light guide and a second light guide and a receptacle for a sheet stack.
Claims
1. A spacer for an assembly of a backlight of a display, the spacer comprising: at least one crosspiece with attachment surfaces for attachment of a first light guide and a second light guide and a receptacle for a sheet stack.
2. The spacer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spacer further comprises alignment elements for aligning the first light guide, the second light guide, or the sheet stack.
3. The spacer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle for the sheet stack is formed by a cutout in the at least one crosspiece.
4. The spacer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spacer is designed to optically screen off the first light guide and the second light guide from one another.
5. The spacer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spacer is designed for use as a positioning element and a holding element in the display.
6. An assembly for a backlight of a display, the assembly comprising: a spacer, comprising: at least one crosspiece with attachment surfaces; a first light guide; a second light guide; and a sheet stack.
7. The assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first light guide and the second light guide are attached to attachment surfaces of the spacer by optically clear adhesive sheets.
8. The assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the spacer, the first light guide, and the second light guide have substantially the same coefficient of expansion.
9. A display, comprising: a backlight, wherein the backlight further comprises an assembly comprising: at least one crosspiece with attachment surfaces; a first light guide; a second light guide; and a sheet stack.
10. The display as claimed in claim 9, wherein the backlight further comprises a printed circuit board with two or more light sources.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0019] FIG. 1 schematically shows a section through a display with a backlight;
[0020] FIG. 2 schematically shows an exploded view of an assembly according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display;
[0021] FIG. 3 schematically shows a top view of an assembly according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display;
[0022] FIG. 4 schematically shows a section along a first plane through an assembly according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display;
[0023] FIG. 5 schematically shows a section along a second plane through an assembly according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display; and
[0024] FIG. 6 schematically shows a means of transport in which a solution according to the disclosure is implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] For a better understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, embodiments of the disclosure will be explained in more detail below with reference to the Figures. The same reference signs will be used in the Figures for identical or functionally identical elements and are not necessarily described again for each Figure. It is to be understood that the disclosure is not restricted to the illustrated embodiments and that the features described may also be combined or modified without departing from the scope of protection of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.
[0026] FIG. 1 schematically shows a section through a display 1 with a backlight. The display 1 comprises a display panel 11 and a backlight 10 for the display panel 11. Additional optical layers, for example polarization filters, light-directing sheets (prism sheets, lens sheets etc.) or light-scattering sheets (diffusers), may be arranged in the form of a sheet stack 106 between the backlight 10 and the display panel 11. The backlight 10 and the sheet stack 106 are arranged in a housing 12 of the display 1 and form a first assembly. The housing 12 is closed with respect to the environment by a cover glass 13, which together with the display panel 11 forms a second assembly. Both assemblies are kept together by way of an adhesive connection 16, e.g., with liquid adhesive. The display panel 11 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD).
[0027] FIG. 2 schematically shows an exploded view of an assembly 100 according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display. The assembly 100 in this embodiment comprises a first light guide 105, a number of optical sheets that together form a sheet stack 106, a spacer 101, and a second light guide 107. The assembly 100 additionally has two optically clear adhesive sheets 109 for attaching the first light guide 105 and the second light guide 107 to the spacer 101. The adhesive sheets 109 are double-sided transparent adhesive tape having a low refractive index. The spacer 101 in this embodiment has a frame 112 on three sides and a crosspiece 102. On a side at which light is intended to be coupled into the light guides 105, 107, the spacer 101 merely has a crosspiece 102. However, the frame 112 may also be formed on fewer than three sides of the spacer 101 or even be entirely omitted. In that case, walls may be separately mounted for screening off light. The materials of the spacer 101, of the first light guide 105, and of the second light guide 107 have substantially the same coefficient of expansion. For this purpose, the different components may consist of the same basic material, e.g., polycarbonate.
[0028] FIG. 3 schematically shows a top view of an assembly 100 according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display. This view shows only the spacer 101 and the second light guide 107. The remaining components of the assembly 100 are covered. Also drawn in is the location of two section planes A-A and B-B, which are illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 and provide details relating to the construction of the assembly 100.
[0029] FIG. 4 schematically shows a section along a first plane through the assembly 100 according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display. FIG. 4 in this case illustrates the section along the plane A-A from FIG. 3. The first light guide 105, the sheet stack 106 arranged on the first light guide 105, and the second light guide 107 are easily discernible. The two light guides 105, 107 are adhesively bonded to attachment surfaces 103, 104 of the crosspiece 102 of the spacer 101 by the adhesive sheets 109. To receive the adhesive sheet 109, the crosspiece 102 may have a depression 111. A cutout 110 of the spacer 101 forms a receptacle for the sheet stack 106. Owing to the crosspiece 102 with the attachment surfaces 103, 104, a precise distance between the light guides 105, 107 and for example between the sheet stack 106 and the second light guide 107 is ensured. The spacer 101 thus simultaneously connects the light guides 105, 107 and sets the distance. In addition, it optically screens off the first light guide 105 and the second light guide 107 from one another. A printed circuit board 14, on which light sources 15 are located, is arranged adjacent to the assembly 100. The light emitted by said light sources 15 is coupled into the light guides 105, 107 and used to backlight the display panel. For this reason, the spacer 101 has no frame on this side.
[0030] FIG. 5 schematically shows a section along a second plane through the assembly 100 according to the disclosure for a backlight of a display. FIG. 5 in this case illustrates the section along the plane B-B from FIG. 3. The first light guide 105, the sheet stack 106 arranged on the first light guide 105, the second light guide 107, and the adhesive sheets 109 by means of which the two light guides 105, 107 are adhesively bonded to the crosspiece 102 of the spacer 101 are again easily discernible. One of the adhesive sheets 109 is arranged, as before, in a depression 111 of the crosspiece 102. In this section plane, the frame 112 of the spacer 101 is also visible. The spacer 101 or the frame 112 may have additional geometries (not illustrated) with which the spacer 101 may be positioned and secured in the overall device. In this way, the spacer 101 simultaneously serves as a positioning element and a holding element in the display. FIG. 5 likewise shows an alignment element 108. Such alignment elements 108 may be used to simplify the positioning of the integral parts and prevent incorrect installation. The alignment element 108 may be designed for example as a stop surface, a stop rib, an opening etc. In the example illustrated, an alignment element 108 is provided only for the second light guide 107. Additionally or alternatively, however, corresponding alignment elements 108 may also be used for the alignment of the first light guide 105 or of the sheet stack.
[0031] FIG. 6 schematically shows a means of transport 20 in which a solution according to the disclosure is implemented. The means of transport 20 is a motor vehicle in this example. The motor vehicle has at least one assistance system 21, which assists a user of the motor vehicle during driving, and a navigation system 22. Information provided by the assistance system 21 or by the navigation system 22 may be displayed on a display 1 according to the disclosure. For example, the display 1 may be an instrument cluster. A connection to a back-end, for instance for receiving updated software for the components of the motor vehicle, may be established by means of a data transfer unit 23. A memory 24 is present for storing data. Data is exchanged between the various components of the motor vehicle via a network 25.