JP5589683B2 - Information display terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display terminal that can be applied to an electronic book or the like.

In the conventional information display terminal, as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example, a rectangular liquid crystal display is housed in an outer box. The outer box contained a main circuit board and a battery for controlling the liquid crystal display. Since the liquid crystal display is fabricated on a glass substrate and is easily broken, all of the four outer sides of the liquid crystal display and its back surface (the surface opposite to the display surface) are surrounded and protected by an outer box. For example, a flat plate on the back side constituting the outer box is made of a plastic such as polycarbonate, and a metal elastic structure is sandwiched between the polycarbonate and the liquid crystal display as a reinforcing member. The elastic structure is a product obtained by bending a metal plate into a U shape, thereby preventing the impact applied to the back side of the outer box from being directly transmitted to the glass substrate of the liquid crystal display.
As a result of such a configuration, the conventional information display terminal uses a metal reinforcing member in addition to the heavy glass substrate itself constituting the display device, so even if it is portable, it is close to 500 g or more. The weight was reached.

JP 2003-316342 A JP 2005-242436 A

  When the information display terminal is carried and used, in many cases, the information display terminal is held between the thumb of one hand and the other finger. For example, as shown in FIG. 24, consider the case of grasping an information display terminal having a width (x direction) of 151 mm and a length (y direction) of 181 mm. Assume that the weight of the information display terminal is 400 g, the thumb TB is hung at a position 1 cm inward from the lower right (origin O) of the terminal, and the index finger IF is placed on the back at a position 1 cm in the direction of the center of gravity from the thumb TB. In this case, since the center of gravity C of the device is near the center, the torque applied to the thumb TB is 3600 g, and the load applied to the index finger IF reaches 4000 g. As described above, since the information display terminal according to the related art is heavy, there is a problem that a burden on the finger is large and it is difficult to use the information display terminal for a long time. In addition, this problem becomes more prominent as the display area of the information display terminal becomes larger. Therefore, it is difficult to realize a portable information display terminal that has a relatively large display area and can be used for a long time. There was a problem. In other words, there is a problem that it is difficult to realize a user-friendly information display terminal.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1] An information display terminal according to this application example includes a flexible display device, a housing for holding the display device, and a main circuit board for controlling the display device. includes an electro-optical panel, and a protective portion for covering the electro-optical panel at least, the housing comprises a housing upper part and housing lower part, is disposed on a portion of the outer edge portion of the display device, housing The upper part of the body and the lower part of the housing sandwich part of the outer edge. The main circuit board is in contact with the bottom surface inside the lower part of the housing, and the surface is attached to the back of the display device via an adhesive. It is characterized in that it is housed inside the lower part of the casing in contact.
According to this configuration, since the display device is flexible, even if an impact such as dropping is applied, the display device is less likely to be damaged due to the buffering action of the display device itself. In a preferred example, the display device is formed of a lightweight plastic film. In addition, according to this configuration, the mechanical durability and chemical durability of the electro-optical panel can be enhanced by the protective portion.
Therefore, even if the entire display device is not housed in the outer box using the reinforcing member as in the prior art, the practical strength can be ensured only by disposing the casing on a part of the outer edge portion of the display device. Further, according to this configuration, since the display device is sandwiched between the upper portion and the lower portion of the housing, the display device can be fixed to the housing in the normal direction of the display surface of the display device. Furthermore, the lower part of the housing is fixed with an adhesive material. As a result, since the entire information display terminal can be made thin and light, it can be used for a long time without feeling tired. Further, even if the display device is enlarged, the weight is only slightly increased. Therefore, a portable information display terminal having a relatively large display area and usable for a long time can be realized. In other words, a user-friendly information portable terminal can be realized.
Application Example 2 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, a circuit protection film is disposed between the display device and the main circuit board, and the circuit protection film has irregularities complementary to the irregularities of the main circuit board. It is preferable that
According to this configuration, the unevenness of the main circuit board can be easily absorbed, and the probability of breakage of the display device during assembly can be reduced to almost zero%.

Application Example 3 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the center of gravity of the information display terminal is located in the housing.
Since the display device is lighter than the casing, the center of gravity of the information display terminal can be positioned inside the casing. Since the housing is disposed at the outer edge of the display device, the center of gravity is also located in the vicinity of the outer edge. In this case, even if the information display terminal is accidentally dropped, in many cases, the casing falls downward, and the casing first collides with the floor. Therefore, the casing receives the strongest impact of dropping, and the display device does not receive as much impact as the casing. In addition, the impact of the collision that the display device suffers is determined by the falling speed and the mass of the display device because the casing first collides with the floor, and is not related to the mass of the information display terminal. Since the display device itself is flexible and light, the impact on the display device is also weakened from this fact. That is, if only the casing has high durability against drop impact, the entire information display terminal has high durability against drop impact even if the drop impact durability of the display device itself is low. It will be a thing. Thus, a reinforcing member for the display device is not required, and a thin, light and durable information display terminal can be obtained.
In addition, since the center of gravity of the information display terminal is located at the outer edge, when the user holds the casing of the information display terminal by hand, that is, it grasps the vicinity of the center of gravity of the information display terminal. Since the vicinity of the center of gravity is grasped, the torque of the information display terminal received by the user is extremely small. Thus, even if the information display terminal is held with one hand, it can be used for a long time without fatigue.

Application Example 4 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the display device has a notch for fixing at a portion that is a protective portion and does not overlap with the electro-optical panel in front view, and the housing is fixed. It is preferable to have a fixing protrusion corresponding to the notch portion, and the fixing protrusion is fitted to the fixing notch portion.
According to this configuration, the display device can be fixed to the housing in a direction parallel to the display surface of the display device.

Application Example 5 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the upper part of the casing does not overlap with the display unit when viewed from the front, and the lower part of the casing is the rear surface (the surface opposite to the display surface) and the rear surface of the display unit. It is preferable to overlap in view.
According to this configuration, information can be displayed on the entire display unit in front view.

Application Example 6 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the upper part of the casing has a flat plate shape having the upper length of the casing, the upper width of the casing, and the upper thickness of the casing, and the lower part of the casing has the lower length of the casing. It is a flat plate shape having a lower case width and a lower case thickness, and the upper case width is preferably shorter than the lower case width.
According to this configuration, the main circuit board and the battery for controlling the information display terminal can be incorporated in the lower part of the relatively large casing, and the upper part of the casing is small, so that the majority of the information display terminal can be the display unit when viewed from the front. . That is, the size of the information display terminal can be made substantially the same as the size of the display unit when viewed from the front.

Application Example 7 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the lower width of the housing is 3 cm or more and 6 cm or less.
The distance from the lower palm of the hand (the proximal interphalangeal joint muscle portion of the thumb) to the middle finger tip or ring finger tip when a person gently rolls the hand is approximately 3 to 6 cm. Therefore, according to this configuration, one side of the lower part of the housing can be put on the palm, and the middle or ring finger can be hung on the other side parallel to the side, so that the information display terminal can be easily held. Become. Further, as described above, the center of gravity of the information display terminal is located in or near the lower part of the casing, so that the center of gravity is on the palm of the hand, and the user hardly feels torque. That is, the information display terminal can be used without causing the hands and fingers to feel tired.

Application Example 8 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the display device is preferably a flat polygon, and a part of the outer edge is preferably one side forming a polygon.
According to this configuration, most of the information display terminal can be used as the display unit in front view, and the center of gravity can be positioned in the vicinity of the outer edge.

Application Example 9 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the display device is a flat polygon, and a part of the outer edge includes one corner forming the polygon and an adjacent one forming the one corner. It is preferable that there are two sides.
According to this configuration, most of the information display terminal can be used as the display unit in front view, and the center of gravity can be positioned in the vicinity of the outer edge.
A plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix in the display portion, and row wiring and column wiring for selecting each pixel and supplying an image signal are provided. By collecting these row wirings and column wirings on two adjacent sides forming one corner, the housing can be arranged at this part.

Application Example 10 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the protection unit includes a back impact cushioning sheet, and the back impact cushioning sheet covers the back surface of the electro-optic panel.
According to this structure, even if an impact or stress is applied to the display device from the back, the possibility of breakage can be reduced. In addition, the lower part of the information display terminal extends to the display unit, and the end (edge) of the lower part of the case overlaps the display unit. Since the display unit has flexibility, when the display unit is bent, an end portion of the lower portion of the housing serves as a fulcrum with respect to the display device, and a strong local stress may be applied to the display device. Also in this case, since the back impact buffer sheet relieves stress, damage to the display device due to stress can be prevented.
In addition, the information display terminal has a main circuit board and a battery stacked at the bottom of the casing, and has sharp irregularities on the surface. During the manufacture of the information display terminal, the unevenness may be pressed against the display device, but the back impact cushioning sheet also relaxes the unevenness and the accompanying spatial pressure distribution. As a result, the probability that the information display terminal is damaged during the manufacturing is reduced, and the productivity (yield) can be improved.

Application Example 11 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the protection unit includes a front shock absorbing sheet, and the front shock absorbing sheet covers the front surface of the electro-optical panel.
According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the risk of breakage even if an impact or stress is applied to the display device from the front. Further, when the display device is bent, the front impact cushioning sheet relieves the stress applied to the display device by the edge (edge) of the upper portion of the housing, so that the display device can be prevented from being damaged by local stress.

Application Example 12 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the thickness of the front impact cushioning sheet and the thickness of the rear impact cushioning sheet are substantially equal.
Since the front impact cushioning sheet and the rear impact cushioning sheet are made of the same material or similar materials, according to this configuration, the internal stress of the impact cushioning sheet is equal between the front surface and the rear surface of the display device, and the natural state Can flatten the display. That is, it is possible to prevent the display device from being unintentionally warped or curled.
Further, when the display device is intentionally bent or rounded, the stress neutral surface comes near the center in the cross-sectional direction of the display device, so that the display device is hardly damaged. That is, durability against bending of a flexible display device can be improved.

[Application Example 13 ] In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the display device includes a switch notch at a portion that is a protective part and does not overlap with the electro-optical panel in front view. It is preferable to have an operation switch in the part.
As described above, the information display terminal has the main circuit board and the battery in the lower part of the casing. According to this configuration, the operation switch can be provided on the front surface of the information display terminal through the switch notch, An information display terminal with excellent performance can be realized.

Application Example 14 In the information display terminal according to the application example, the electro-optical panel includes a first substrate and a second substrate, and an electro-optical material sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate. It is preferable that a thin film circuit using a thin film transistor is formed on the first substrate.
According to this configuration, the thin film circuit using the thin film transistor can independently control a plurality of pixels provided in the display portion, and thus enables high-quality display.

Application Example 15 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is a crystalline silicon film, the thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit and a driver circuit, and the pixel circuit is formed in the display portion. The drive circuit is preferably formed on the outer periphery of the region where the pixel circuit is formed.
The display device having flexibility has a higher probability of connection failure than the conventional glass display device when the display device and the main circuit board are connected by tape wiring. Therefore, it is desired that the number of tape wirings be as small as possible. In addition, the probability that a connection failure will occur while using the information display terminal is a value obtained by multiplying the failure probability generated per wire by the number of wires. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is desired that the number of arrow tape wirings be as small as possible in order to extend the product life. By forming thin film transistors on the outer periphery of the area where pixel circuits are formed, the number of wires can be significantly reduced, resulting in improved manufacturing yields and at the same time extended product life. become.

Application Example 16 In the information display terminal according to the application example, it is preferable that the first substrate is a plastic film and the thin film circuit is bonded to the plastic film.
A display device having flexibility can be manufactured by forming a thin film circuit on a glass substrate and then peeling the thin film circuit from the glass substrate and bonding the thin film circuit to a plastic film. That is, according to this configuration, a flexible display device can be manufactured relatively easily.

Application Example 17 In the information display terminal according to the application example, the first substrate may be glass having a thickness of 0.1 mm or less.
According to this configuration, a flexible display device can be manufactured by forming a thin film circuit on a glass substrate having a normal thickness of 0.5 mm to 1.1 mm and then scraping the back surface of the glass.

Application Example 18 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is an amorphous silicon film, the thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit, the pixel circuit is formed in the display portion, and the pixel circuit is It is preferable that a substrate wiring for supplying a signal to the pixel circuit is formed on the outer periphery of the formed region.
According to this configuration, a general-purpose amorphous silicon thin film transistor technology can be used, and a large information display terminal can be manufactured.

Application Example 19 In the information display terminal according to the application example, the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is an organic thin film, the thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit, the pixel circuit is formed in the display portion, and the pixel circuit is formed. It is preferable that a substrate wiring for supplying a signal to the pixel circuit is formed on the outer periphery of the substrate.
According to this configuration, when the semiconductor layer is an organic thin film, the thin film transistor can be manufactured by a printing method, and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

Application Example 20 In the information display terminal according to the application example described above, it is preferable that the first substrate is a plastic film.
A display device having flexibility can be manufactured by a method in which a plastic film is fixed to a glass substrate and a thin film circuit is directly formed on the film. That is, according to this configuration, a flexible display device can be manufactured relatively easily.

Application Example 21 In the information display terminal according to the application example, it is preferable that the first substrate is a metal plate.
A flexible display device can be manufactured by a method in which a metal plate such as a stainless steel sheet is covered with an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film, and a thin film circuit is directly formed on the insulating film. In this method, the manufacturing temperature can be made higher than that in the method of directly forming a thin film circuit on a plastic film. Therefore, according to this configuration, a flexible display device can be manufactured relatively easily.

The information display terminal concerning Embodiment 1 is shown typically, (a) is a front perspective view, (b) is a back perspective view. Sectional drawing which shows an information display terminal typically. The figure which showed the display apparatus typically by front view. The component of an information display terminal is shown typically in front view, (a) is a figure showing the upper part of a case, and (b) is a figure showing the lower part of a case. (A) is an example of a front perspective view when the information display terminal is used, and (b) is an example of a rear perspective view when the information display terminal is used. The front view which shows an electro-optical panel typically. Sectional drawing which shows a display apparatus typically. The top view which shows the use condition of an information display terminal typically. Sectional drawing in the horizontal direction of an information display terminal. The front perspective view which shows an information display terminal typically. The front perspective view which shows an information display terminal typically. The figure which showed typically the information display terminal concerning Embodiment 2 by the front view. Sectional drawing in the vertical direction of the information display terminal concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. Sectional drawing of the display apparatus used with the information display terminal concerning Embodiment 3. FIG. Sectional drawing of the information display terminal concerning Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the main circuit board of the information display terminal according to the fourth embodiment, where (a) is a diagram before assembling the casing and the display device, and (b) is a diagram after assembling. The component of the information display terminal 1 concerning the modification 1 is typically shown by the front view, (a) is the figure which showed the display apparatus, (b) the figure which showed the housing | casing upper part, (c) FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used for an information display terminal according to Modification 2. FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal according to modification example 3. It is a figure which shows typically the information display terminal concerning the modification 4, (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing components of an information display terminal according to Modification 4 in a front view, (a) a diagram showing a display device, (b) a diagram showing an upper part of the housing, and (c) a housing. The figure which showed the lower body. FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal according to modification example 4. The front view which shows typically the information display terminal concerning the modification 5. FIG. The top view which shows typically the use condition of the conventional information display terminal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the scales are different for each layer and each member so that each layer and each member has a size that can be recognized on the drawing.

(Definition)
First, terms used in the present application are defined as follows.
An information display terminal is an electronic device having a function of displaying information. Examples include an electronic book and an Internet browsing device, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a video image viewing device, a digital photo frame, a navigation system, and personal digital assistants. It is.
A display device is a so-called display that displays an image when power, a predetermined signal, or the like is input.
The housing is a box containing a main circuit board, a battery, and the like for controlling the display device.

(Embodiment 1)
"Outline of information display terminal"
FIG. 1 schematically shows an information display terminal according to the present embodiment, in which (a) is a front perspective view and (b) is a rear perspective view. Hereinafter, the outline of the information display terminal will be described first with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the information display terminal 1 has at least a display device 2 and a housing 3 as components. The display device 2 has a flat rectangular shape. The housing 3 is disposed on a part of the outer edge of the display device 2 and holds the display device 2. That is, the housing 3 is a holding portion (case portion) for the display device. The part of the outer edge of the display device 2 is preferably one side of a rectangle. As will be described in detail later, the housing 3 is held by the user's hand during use. Therefore, the housing 3 is also a grip part of the information display terminal 1.

  The display device 2 has a vertically long rectangle. Hereinafter, in each of the drawings including FIG. 1, the vertical direction is the y-axis direction, and the horizontal direction shorter than the vertical direction is the x-axis direction. The vertical direction is defined as the z-axis direction. Further, the vertical side of the display device is referred to as a long side, and the horizontal side is referred to as a short side. Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, one side where the elongated casing 3 is provided in the front view is defined as the right side (right long side) of the information display terminal 1. The y-axis is aligned with the right side, the x-axis is aligned with the lower side (lower short side), and the intersection of the x-axis and the y-axis is the origin O. The origin O is therefore located near the lower right corner of the information display terminal 1. The positive direction of the x-axis is the direction from right to left, and the positive direction of the y-axis is the direction from bottom to top. In addition, since the definition of the long side and the short side is as described above, the actual length of the side may not match the names such as “long side” and “short side”.

The housing 3 has a thin flat plate shape, and as shown in FIG. 1A, a housing upper portion 31 (an upper part of the housing 3) is provided on the front surface as a display surface, as shown in FIG. Similarly, the housing lower part 32 (lower part of the housing 3) is provided on the back surface opposite to the display surface. The housing upper part 31 and the housing lower part 32 are thin flat plates, and they are overlapped to form the housing 3. As can be seen by comparing FIG. 1 (a) and FIG. 1 (b), the front-side housing width (width W _F ) is narrower than the rear-side housing width (width W _B ). .

  Various circuits (control circuit) for controlling the display device 2 and a power source are housed in the housing lower part 32. As a result, the housing 3 has a main part of more than half of the weight of the information display terminal 1. Occupies a proportion. In the preferred embodiment, the housing 3 occupies 68% of the total weight. For these reasons, the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is located in the lower portion 32 of the housing.

  The display device 2 is light and flexible. For this reason, it is relatively strong against external impact, and it is not necessary to protect the entire display device 2 by covering it with the housing 3. Thus, the housing 3 can be provided on the outer edge of the display device 2. Since the housing 3 does not cover the entire display device and there is no need to dispose a metal reinforcing member or the like, the entire information display terminal 1 is made thin and light.

  The display device 2 includes a display unit 21 and displays various types of information on the display unit 21. An operation switch 4 is provided in the center of the housing 3 and information displayed on the display unit 21 is updated through the switch operation.

  Hereinafter, although the technical details regarding the information display terminal 1 will be described, in the present embodiment, as a preferable example, a case where an electrophoretic display (EPD) is applied to the display device 2 will be described. Therefore, a suitable example of the information display terminal 1 is an electronic book.

"Cross-sectional structure of information display terminal"
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the information display terminal, and corresponds to a cross section taken along line AA ′ in FIG. Although the operation switch 4 does not exist on the AA ′ line in FIG. 1A, it is also drawn for reference. Here, a cross-sectional structure of the information display terminal will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information display terminal 1 includes a display device 2 and a housing 3 provided on the right side thereof.

  The display device 2 includes an electro-optical panel 5 and a protection unit 6. The electro-optical panel 5 is accompanied by a tape wiring 9 and is a so-called naked display. The protection unit 6 is transparent and covers the electro-optical panel 5 to improve the mechanical or chemical durability of the electro-optical panel 5 without impairing the display performance. The tape wiring 9 has one end connected to the electro-optical panel 5 and the other end connected to the main circuit board 324. A protective portion 6 is provided so as to enclose the tape wiring 9 excluding the other end and the entire electro-optical panel 5.

  The housing 3 includes a housing upper portion 31 and a housing lower portion 32 as components, and the housing upper portion 31 and the housing lower portion 32 sandwich the display device 2. The inside of the housing lower part 32 is cut into a box shape, and a main circuit board 324 is accommodated in the inside. A secondary battery and a control circuit are mounted on the main circuit board 324, and the control circuit is assembled by various electronic elements 325. The electronic element 325 is an IC chip, a capacitor, a resistor, a transformer, or the like. These electronic elements 325 are mounted on both surfaces of the main circuit board 324.

  The electronic elements 325 have different heights. The back surface of the main circuit board 324 is in contact with the bottom surface inside the housing lower part 32, and the surface of the main circuit board 324 is in contact with the back surface of the display device 2 through the adhesive material 326. Since the height of the electronic element 325 is non-uniform, the main circuit board surface and the display device back surface are adhered in a number of points. The adhesive material 326 is also provided on the upper part of the outer frame of the housing lower part 32. In this way, the display device 2 is sandwiched between the upper case portion 31 and the lower case portion 32, and is fixed to the lower case portion 32 with the adhesive material 326. The outer frame of the housing upper part 31 and the housing lower part 32 has a good external appearance such as ABS resin (acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene copolymer synthetic resin), is made of a strong plastic, and has high impact resistance. .

  A connector for connecting the tape wiring 9 is provided on the back surface of the main circuit board 324, and power and signals are supplied to the display device 2 through the connector. Incidentally, most of the electronic element parts including the connector are arranged on the back surface of the main circuit board 324. It is preferable to reduce the number of electronic component parts mounted on the surface as much as possible. Further, a tall electronic element component is disposed on the back surface of the main circuit board 324, and a component mounted on the front surface is a short electronic element component. The sharp convex portion may damage the display device 2 when the housing 3 and the display device 2 are combined. Accordingly, the surface of the main circuit board is made as smooth as possible, and the contact with the rear surface of the display device is made planar to reduce the probability of occurrence of defects in combination. In this embodiment, only a chip capacitor having a thickness of 0.3 mm is mounted on the surface of the main circuit board.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the operation switch 4 has four contacts in the top, bottom, left, and right directions in the plan view (operation direction input), and has a push button contact at the center. When one of the four contacts or the center contact comes into contact with the contact of the switch body by the tilting movement of the rod, the operation input signal is transmitted to the center operator, and the main circuit board housed in the housing 3 is Information on the display unit 21 is updated by operating a predetermined circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation switch extends from the main circuit board 324 to the upper part 31 of the housing.

  Here, the control circuit and the power source are arranged on the back surface of the display device 2, but a part of them is arranged adjacent to the front surface of the display device 2 (in the upper part 31 of the casing) or next to the display device 2. Also good.

"Planar structure of display device and its fixation"
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a display device, which is a component of the information display terminal, in a front view. FIG. 4 schematically shows a casing, which is a component of the information display terminal, in a front view, (a) showing the upper part of the casing, and (b) showing the lower part of the casing. It is a figure. Here, a planar structure of the display device and a fixing method to the housing will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the display device 2, the protection unit 6 covers the electro-optical panel 5. Accordingly, in the front view, the area of the protection unit 6 is larger than the area of the electro-optical panel 5, and the outer peripheral part of the protection unit 6 becomes the outer edge 22 of the display device 2 as it is except for the tape wiring 9. ing. In front view, most of the electro-optical panel 5 is the display unit 21.

  A fixing cutout 71 is formed on the right side of the protection part 6. The place where the fixing cutout portion 71 is formed is the outer edge portion 22 that does not overlap the electro-optical panel 5 in front view. In FIG. 3, the fixing notches 71 are circular with a diameter of 3.5 mm, and are provided at two locations above and below the right side of the display device 2. A plurality of fixing notches 71 are provided at positions overlapping the housing 3 in front view. By providing a plurality, the display device 2 can be fixed in a direction parallel to the display surface. If there are too many fixing notches 71, the number of fixing notches 71 is preferably about two to four because the main circuit board 324 accommodated in the housing 3 is restricted.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, a fixing protrusion 73 is provided on the inner side of the housing lower part 32 so as to correspond to the fixing notch portion 71 provided in the display device 2. The fixing protrusion 73 is a cylinder having a diameter of 3 mm, and the fixing protrusion 73 is fitted into a fixing notch 71 provided in the display device 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, a fixing recess 72 is provided on the inner side of the upper portion 31 of the casing, and a fixing projection 73 extending from the lower portion 32 of the casing is fitted into the fixing recess 72. The display device 2 is pressed down. In this way, as shown in FIG. 2, the housing upper part 31 and the housing lower part 32 sandwich a part of the outer edge 22 of the display device 2. The fixing notch 71, the fixing protrusion 73, and the fixing recess 72 are collectively referred to as fixing means.

"Removing the operation switch"
As shown in FIG. 3, a switch notch 42 is formed on the right side of the protection unit 6. The place where the switch notch 42 is formed is a portion that does not overlap the electro-optical panel 5 and does not overlap with the upper portion 31 of the housing. The switch notch 42 is a part where the protective part 6 is removed. In FIG. 3, the protective portion 6 on the right outer edge portion 22 of the display device 2 on which the housing upper portion 31 is covered is cut out in a trapezoidal shape near the center, and this is a switch cutout portion 42. Corresponding to this, as shown in FIG. 4A, a hole is formed in the upper part 31 of the housing to form a switch hole 41. As shown in FIG. 2, the information display terminal 1 has a main circuit board and a battery in the housing lower part 32, and the operation switch 4 also extends from the main circuit board in the housing lower part 32. In this way, the operation switch 4 is taken out to the front of the information display terminal 1 through the switch notch 42 provided in the display device 2 and the switch hole 41 provided in the upper portion 31 of the housing.

  The switch cutout portion 42 provided in the display device 2 may be a circular or polygonal hole. Similarly, the switch hole 41 provided in the upper portion 31 of the casing is not limited to a hole, and is notched. It does not matter. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, since the operation switch 4 is located at the center of the casing 3 in the longitudinal direction, the switch notch 42 is also provided at the center of the display device 2 in the longitudinal direction. Although the hole 41 is also provided at the center in the longitudinal direction of the housing upper part 31, the switch notch 42 and the switch hole 41 may be formed according to the position of the operation switch 4.

"Case size"
Here, first, the names of the sides of the housing upper part 31 and the housing lower part 32 are defined with reference to FIG. The case upper part 31 is installed on the right side of the display device 2, and the side of the case upper part 31 parallel to this side is referred to as the “long side of the case upper part 31”. Further, a side that is orthogonal to the long side of the upper part 31 of the casing and is parallel to the short side of the display device 2 is referred to as a “short side of the upper part 31 of the casing”. The long side of the upper part 31 of the casing that is located inside the display device 2 (the side closer to the center of the display device 2) is called the “left side 31L”. The side located on the outer side (the side away from the center of the display device 2) is referred to as a “right side 31R”. The upper side of the upper side of the casing 31 is referred to as “upper side 31U”, and the lower side of the upper side of the casing 31 is referred to as “lower side 31D”. The same names are used for the lower part 32 of the housing. Since the definition of the long side and the short side is as described above, the length of the actual side may not match the names such as “long side” and “short side”. In addition, since the definition of the upper side and the lower side is as described above, the vertical relationship of these short sides may not match the name.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), housing top 31 is flat, has a length L _F and the width W _F, and a thickness t _F shown in FIG. Also as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the housing lower part 32 is flat, having a length L _B and the width W _B, and a thickness t _B of FIG. 2. The length L _F is the length of the long side of the housing upper part 31. Similarly, the width W _F, the width of the short side of the housing top 31. The thickness t _F is the thickness of the upper part 31 of the housing. The length L _B , the width W _B , and the thickness t _B have the same relationship.

The length L _F and the length L _B are both substantially equal, and one long side of each is matched with the side opposite to the display device 2. That is, the right side 31R and the right side 32R are matched. Further, the short side of the upper part 31 of the casing and the short side of the lower part 32 of the casing are also matched. As a result, the upper side, the lower side, and the right side of the housing 3 are aligned with the three edges (edges) of the upper portion 31 of the housing and the three edges (edges) of the lower portion 32 of the housing 3 with a sense of unity. It becomes the housing 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, each side forming the display unit 21 is parallel to each side of the display device 2, and these sides are parallel to each side forming the housing 3. For these reasons, the information display terminal 1 has an excellent aesthetic appearance. In this embodiment, the length L _F and the length L _B are both 167 mm, and the thickness t _F and the thickness t _B are both 3.25 mm.

With respect to the width W _F of the housing upper part 31, which was narrower than the width W _B of the housing lower part 32, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the housing top 31 when assembled information display terminal 1 The display unit 21 should not overlap with the front view. Ideally, the left side 31L is positioned slightly outside the display unit 21, if possible, on the boundary line between the display unit 21 and a part other than the display unit 21. In short, it is ideal that the left side 31L and the boundary line of the display unit 21 adjacent to the left side 31L have a substantially overlapping relationship. In FIG. 1A, there is a gap of about 0.3 mm between the left side and the right side of the display unit 21, but at first glance, these two sides are in a substantially overlapping relationship. That is, these two sides are close to each other and almost coincide with each other. Note that “the two sides are in a substantially overlapping relationship” means that the two sides (straight lines) are in close parallel relation, and the distance between these two sides is a difference that a person cannot notice at a glance. It points to something. Specifically, the distance between the two sides is a difference of less than 1 mm. Left 31L is, as is within 1mm from the display unit 21 on the outside of the display unit 21 determines the position of the width W _F and the housing upper 31. In the present embodiment, the width W _F is 20 mm.

On the other hand, as for the width W _B, which was wider than the width W _F, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the housing lower part 32 and the rear surface of the display unit 21, in the rear view, to such overlap . This is because a main circuit board 324 and a battery for controlling the information display terminal 1 are incorporated in the lower part 32 of the casing and the casing 3 is easily held by hand. Since the main parts are incorporated in the housing lower part 32, the housing upper part 31 can be made small as described above, and most of the information display terminal 1 is the display unit 21 in a front view. In the present embodiment, it is 45mm width W _B. Further, since the information display terminal 1 has a width of 151 mm, a length of 181 mm, and the display device 2 and the upper part 31 of the casing overlap each other by 18 mm in the width direction, the area of the information display terminal 1 in the front view is 27303 mm. ² . The display unit 21 has a width of 125 mm, a length of 169 mm, and an area in front view of 21125 mm ² . Therefore, the area ratio of the display unit 21 to the information display terminal 1 is 77%. However, since the protection unit 6 is transparent, it is difficult to recognize as the information display terminal 1, and the area ratio of the display unit 21 with respect to the information display terminal 1 is realized (referred to as an actuality ratio), except for the protection unit 6 (electricity The ratio of the display unit 21 to the optical panel 5 and the housing upper part 31) is obtained. The area of the part excluding the protective part 6 is 23419 mm ² . Therefore, the actual ratio of the display unit 21 to the information display terminal 1 is 90%. Thus the narrowed width W _F, when the feeling ratio of the display unit 21 to 90%, an extremely functional information display terminal 1. In addition, the site | part which does not overlap with the display part 21 in the protection part 6 does not need to be transparent, and you may paint it so that aesthetics may be excellent. For example, if this part is painted white and a blank is provided, the user recognizes this part as a part of the display unit 21 and the information display terminal 1 has a wide blank and is easy to use.

“Lower case width and operation switch position”
FIG. 5A is an example of a front perspective view when the information display terminal is used, and FIG. 5B is an example of a rear perspective view when the information display terminal is used. Here, the configuration requirements for making the information display terminal easy to use will be described with reference to FIG.

When the information display terminal 1 is used, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the right side of the housing 3 is put on the lower part of the palm (the proximal interphalangeal joint muscle portion of the thumb), and FIG. 5 (b). As shown, when the hand is lightly rolled and the tip of the index finger, middle finger or ring finger is hooked on the left side 32L, the information display terminal 1 can be easily held with one hand. At this time, since the information display terminal 1 is fixed with four fingers excluding the thumb and the palm, the thumb can be used freely. That is, the operation switch 4 provided on the upper part 31 of the housing can be freely operated with the thumb while the information display terminal 1 is stably held with one hand. To achieve this, the first width W _B, it is necessary to be equal to the distance from the palm lower to previous or ring finger of the previous middle finger when rounded gently hand. The average adult distance is approximately 30 to 60 mm. Thus the width W _B is preferably set to 60mm from 30 mm.

  Moreover, if the angle | corner which makes the intersection of lower side 32D of the housing | casing lower part 32 and the right side 32R is pressed down by the lower part of a palm, it will become easier to hold | maintain the information display terminal 1. FIG. In this case, in order to operate the operation switch 4 with the thumb, the distance from the lower part of the palm to the tip of the thumb must be substantially the same as the distance from this corner to the operation switch 4. Since the distance from the lower palm of an adult to the thumb is about 50 mm to 100 mm on average, the distance from the corner between the lower side 32D and the right side to the operation switch 4 is preferably 50 mm to 100 mm. In the present embodiment, the distance is 83.5 mm, and the operation switch 4 is located in the center in the long side direction of the housing upper part 31.

"Protection size"
Returning to FIG.
The protection unit 6 is 1 mm to 9 mm larger than the electro-optical panel 5 at each side where the housing 3 is not installed. If it is 1 mm or more, the protective part 6 is strongly bonded, and water vapor and oxygen can be prevented from entering the electro-optical panel 5 from the lateral direction. On the other hand, since the protection part 6 does not contribute to the display, the protection part 6 becomes compact with respect to the display surface if it is smaller than 9 mm, and the information display terminal 1 is easy to carry. Ideally, the protection unit 6 is preferably set larger than the electro-optical panel 5 in a range of 2 mm to 8 mm on each side where the housing 3 is not installed. In the present embodiment, 5mm larger is set. Therefore, the vertical length (181 mm) of the display device 2 shown in FIG. 3 is 10 mm longer than the vertical length (171 mm) of the electro-optical panel 5. On the other hand, at the side where the housing 3 is installed, the protection unit 6 is larger than the electro-optical panel 5 within a range of 5 mm to 13 mm. As described above, since the fixing cutout 71 and the switch cutout 42 are provided in this portion, the width of the protection portion 6 is wider than that of the other sides. Ideally, on the side where the housing 3 is installed, the protection unit 6 is larger than the electro-optical panel 5 within a range of 6 mm to 12 mm, and is larger by 9 mm in this embodiment. Therefore, the lateral width (149 mm) of the display device 2 shown in FIG. 3 is 5 mm wider on the left side and 9 mm wider on the right side than the lateral width (135 mm) of the electro-optical panel 5, and is 14 mm wider in total.

"Electro-optic panel"
FIG. 6 is a front view schematically showing the electro-optical panel. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the display device extracted from FIG. 2, and corresponds to the cross section AA ′ of FIG. For reference, the fixing notch 71 is drawn with a broken line. Here, an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the electro-optical panel 5 is a display device 2 from which the protection unit 6 is removed, and is a so-called naked display. The electro-optical panel 5 is accompanied by a tape wiring 9.

  The tape wiring 9 is a flexible component that electrically connects the main circuit board and the electro-optical panel 5 and may consist of only wiring like a flexible printed circuit (FPC). Alternatively, an IC chip may be stacked on the FPC like a chip-on-film (COF: Chip-On-Film) or a tape carrier package (TCP: Tape-Carrier-Package). The electro-optical panel 5 is provided with a mounting portion 91, and the tape wiring 9 is connected to the mounting portion 91.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the electro-optical panel 5 includes a first substrate 53 and a second substrate 54, and an electro-optical material 55 is sandwiched between the two substrates. A thin film circuit 80 is formed on the surface of the first substrate 53. The thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit 81 and a drive circuit. For this reason, the first substrate 53 is often referred to as an active matrix substrate. A common electrode 541 is formed on the surface of the second substrate 54. Of the plurality of surfaces of the first substrate 53, the surface on which the electro-optic material 55 is provided is defined as the front surface, and the surface opposite to the front surface is defined as the back surface. The front and back surfaces of the second substrate 54 are similarly defined. The electro-optic material 55 is uniformly disposed on almost the entire surface of both substrates. The common electrode 541 is also formed on almost the entire surface of the second substrate 54. For this purpose, FIG. 6 shows the electro-optical panel 5 (in other words, an active matrix substrate) in which the electro-optical material 55 and the second substrate 54 are omitted.

Returning to FIG.
The electro-optical panel 5 is divided into a display part 21 and a peripheral part 52. The display unit 21 is a part where the optical characteristics of the electro-optic material can be modulated, and information is displayed here. In the electro-optical panel 5, a part other than the display unit 21 is referred to as a peripheral part 52. At the same time, the electro-optical panel 5 can be divided into a pixel region 511 and a non-pixel region. The pixel region 511 is a region where a plurality of pixels 513 are arranged in a matrix, and information is displayed in the pixel region 511 by controlling the optical characteristics of each pixel 513. The non-pixel region refers to a portion that is not the pixel region 511 on the electro-optical panel 5. If the concept of the pixel area 511 is used, the display unit 21 may be composed of a pixel area 511 and a blank area 512. The blank area 512 is a frame-shaped area provided in a non-pixel area (the outer periphery of the pixel area 511) adjacent to the pixel area 511. Although detailed information cannot be displayed here, white (bright) black (dark) or display of these intermediate gradations can be performed by hiding the driving circuits and wirings arranged on the outer periphery of the pixel region 511. Nonetheless, it is an area that is considered as a margin. The blank area 512 may not be provided. In this case, the display unit 21 and the pixel area 511 coincide with each other, and the peripheral part 52 and the non-pixel area coincide with each other.

  The thin film circuit 80 formed on the first substrate is composed of thin film elements such as a thin film transistor (TFT), a thin film capacitor, a thin film diode, and a thin film resistor. The first substrate is a smooth plastic (typically polyester film) substrate having flexibility. The semiconductor layer of the TFT is a crystalline silicon film (this is called a crystalline silicon TFT). On the surface of the first substrate, a pixel circuit 81 provided in the pixel region 511, wiring, a driving circuit (a scanning circuit 82 and a signal circuit 83), and the like are formed using thin film elements. These thin film elements are bonded onto a plastic film using a transfer technique described later. The display area is typically a quadrangle such as a rectangle, but may be other polygons, circles, ellipses, hearts, or the like.

  In the pixel region 511 on the first substrate, a plurality of pixels 513 are arranged in a matrix, and a pixel electrode is formed on each pixel 513. The pixel electrode is connected to a pixel circuit 81 provided in each pixel 513 and is controlled independently for each pixel. As a specific example, the pixel circuit 81 includes one TFT (pixel TFT) and one capacitor, the gate electrode of the pixel TFT is connected to a scanning line corresponding to a row line, and the drain electrode is a signal corresponding to a column line. The source electrode is connected to the pixel electrode. The plurality of scanning lines are driven by the scanning circuit 82, and the plurality of signal lines are driven by the signal circuit 83. The scanning circuit 82 and the signal circuit 83 are composed of thin film transistors. In addition, the pixel circuit 81 has other storage element types such as a static random access memory (SRAM) configuration and a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) configuration. It is good also as a structure.

"Drive circuit on the first board"
A scanning circuit 82 and a signal circuit 83 are provided on the outer periphery of the pixel region 511, and a mounting portion 91 and wiring are also provided. The mounting portion 91 is connected to the main circuit board via the tape wiring 9. The main circuit board supplies power and signals to the drive circuit and controls the electro-optical panel 5. The wiring includes a wiring connecting the driving circuits, a wiring connecting the driving circuit and the pixel region 511, and a wiring connecting the mounting portion 91 and the driving circuit. A blank area 512 is formed in an outer peripheral part adjacent to the pixel area 511. That is, part of the drive circuit and part of the wiring are covered with the blank electrode. The blank electrode is formed on the same layer (for example, the uppermost layer of the TFT) with the same material (for example, a transparent conductive film) as the pixel electrode. The blank electrode is electrically connected to a control circuit in the main circuit board. The control circuit modulates the potential of the blank electrode to control the optical characteristics of the electro-optic material provided on the blank electrode.

  In the scanning circuit 82 and the signal circuit 83, the blank electrode overlaps the region operating at a relatively low speed (low-speed operation circuit 831) in plan view, and the region operating at a relatively high speed (high-speed operation circuit 832). It is preferable that they do not overlap in plan view. The low-speed operation circuit 831 is a region where the operation clock frequency of the circuit is generally less than about 1 MHz, and specifically corresponds to a scanning circuit 82 for selecting a scanning line, an output portion of the signal circuit 83, and the like. The output part of the signal circuit 83 is a circuit after the output from the selection circuit such as a shift register or a decoder, for example, a signal processing circuit for producing a signal input to each signal line. On the other hand, the high-speed operation circuit 832 is a circuit that normally requires a high-speed operation of 1 MHz or more, and corresponds to, for example, a clock circuit or a selection circuit (shift register circuit or decoder circuit) of the signal circuit 83. As shown in FIG. 6, the blank electrode overlaps the low speed operation circuit 831 in a plan view, but does not overlap the high speed operation circuit 832 in a plan view. This is because no parasitic capacitance is generated between the blank electrode and the high-speed operation circuit 832. By preventing the generation of parasitic capacitance, the high-speed operation circuit 832 operates the circuit at high speed as designed. In order to achieve the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 6, a low speed operation circuit 831 is provided outside the pixel region 511, and a high speed operation circuit 832 is further provided outside the pixel area 511.

  As described above, the left side 31L of the housing upper part 31 and the boundary line of the display unit 21 adjacent to the left side 31L have a substantially overlapping relationship. That is, with respect to the electro-optical panel 5 shown in FIG. 6, the left side 31 </ b> L between the outer end of the blank electrode (the right edge of the blank area 512) located on the side where the casing upper part 31 is installed and the casing upper part 31. And the position of the upper portion 31 of the housing are determined so as to have a substantially overlapping relationship. In this situation, the housing upper part 31 covers a part of the high-speed operation circuit 832 and the mounting part 91 in the electro-optical panel 5.

  In this embodiment, as a preferred example, 1024 × 768 = 786432 pixels 513 are formed in the pixel region 511. However, since the driving circuit is built in the TFT, the connection terminal in the mounting portion 91 is provided. The number was 50 including the inspection terminals. The mounting failure is a major problem in the flexible display device 2, but the number of connection terminals is greatly reduced by incorporating a drive circuit, thereby solving this problem.

"Method for forming thin film elements on the first substrate"
The first substrate is a plastic film having flexibility. Here, a method for forming a thin film element on the first substrate will be described. Specifically, the thin film circuit 80 first formed on the glass substrate is peeled off and transferred to a plastic film.

  As a 1st process, a peeling layer is provided on the glass substrate used as a manufacturer board | substrate. The release layer is a hydrogenated amorphous silicon film having a thickness of about 50 nm. After forming a silicon oxide film to be a base insulating film on the release layer, a thin film circuit 80 made of a TFT or the like is manufactured. The thin film circuit 80 applies a known method for manufacturing a low temperature process polycrystalline silicon TFT. Specifically, a laser-crystallized polycrystalline silicon semiconductor layer is provided on the base insulating film, and then a gate insulating layer using a silicon oxide film and a metal obtained by adding an additive to aluminum or aluminum are used. A gate electrode is manufactured. Further, a first interlayer insulating layer using a silicon oxide film, a source contact and a drain contact using aluminum or a metal obtained by adding an additive to aluminum, a second interlayer insulating layer using a polyimide-based resin, and indium tin oxide A pixel electrode and a blank electrode using (ITO: Indium Tin Oxide) are manufactured.

  Next, as a second step, a temporary adhesive is applied to the surface of the thin film circuit 80, and the manufacturer's substrate is attached to the temporary transfer substrate. As a temporary adhesive, what mixed polyvinyl pyrrolidone resin in order to give water solubility to acrylic resin is used. The temporary transfer substrate is a smooth glass substrate.

  Next, as a third step, the manufacturer substrate is removed, and the thin film circuit 80 is transferred to the temporary transfer substrate. As a method for removing the manufacturer's substrate, laser light is irradiated from the back of the manufacturer's substrate to weaken the adhesive force inside or at the interface of the release layer, and then the manufacturer's substrate and the temporary transfer substrate are peeled off. In this way, the thin film circuit 80 is transferred to the temporary transfer substrate.

  Next, in a fourth step, the peeling layer remaining on the back surface of the thin film circuit 80 is removed, and charges existing on the back surface of the thin film circuit 80 are removed using, for example, an ionizer. As a result, peeling charge and frictional charge with air during drying can be removed to some extent.

  Next, as the fifth step, the back surface of the thin film circuit 80 is attached to the first surface side of the plastic film using a permanent adhesive made of, for example, acrylic resin. As the plastic film, a polyester film such as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN: Polyethylene naphthalate) can be used.

  Next, as a sixth step, after attaching the plastic film, a supporting substrate is attached to the second surface side of the plastic film (the surface opposite to the first surface side) using a temporary adhesive. When glass is used for the supporting substrate, a manufacturing process adapted to the TFT manufactured on the glass substrate can be diverted to the subsequent process. That is, it is preferable because development elements can be reduced. As the temporary adhesive, an adhesive that loses its adhesive force due to ultraviolet irradiation is used.

  Next, as a seventh step, the temporary transfer substrate is removed using a solvent (in this case, water) that dissolves the temporary adhesive. Thereafter, the temporary adhesive is washed away.

  Next, as the eighth step, various mounting operations are performed. First, the tape wiring 9 is mounted on the mounting portion 91. In this case, an anisotropic conductive paste or an anisotropic conductive film (these are collectively referred to as an anisotropic conductive adhesive) is disposed between the mounting portion 91 and the tape wiring 9 and bonded together. Next, an electro-optic material is sandwiched between the second substrate on which the common electrode is formed and the first substrate. Specifically, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film is the second substrate, a common electrode is formed on the surface of the ITO, and a sheet in which an electro-optic material is disposed on the ITO is prepared. This is bonded to the first substrate.

  Finally, as a ninth step, the supporting substrate is removed from the plastic film by irradiating the temporary adhesive with ultraviolet rays to lose the adhesive force, and the electro-optical panel 5 is completed.

"Cross-sectional structure of display device"
Here, a cross-sectional structure of the display device will be described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, the display device 2 includes the electro-optical panel 5 and the protection unit 6 as components. The electro-optical panel 5 includes a first substrate 53, a second substrate 54, and an electro-optical material 55 sandwiched between the two substrates, and further includes a tape wiring 9. On the other hand, the protection part 6 includes at least a protection sheet 61 and a sealing material 62, and the sealing material 62 is disposed on the outer periphery of the protection sheet 61. The protective sheet 61 mainly has a waterproof and gas barrier function from a direction perpendicular to the display surface, and the sealing material 62 has a waterproof and gas barrier function mainly from a direction parallel to the display surface. ing.

  The protection unit 6 completely covers the electro-optical panel 5 except for the other end of the tape wiring 9 in a front view as shown in FIG. 3, and also in a sectional view as shown in FIG. The electro-optical panel 5 is completely covered except for the other end of the tape wiring 9. That is, in the display device 2 of the present embodiment, all of the electro-optical panel 5 in the vertical and horizontal directions is fixed by the protective sheet 61 and the sealing material 62. In general, when the first substrate 53 is a flexible plastic film and the thin film circuit 80 includes a silicon-based TFT, the thin film circuit 80 is broken from the end and easily broken. On the other hand, the display device 2 of the present embodiment fixes the upper, lower, left and right outer peripheries of the electro-optical panel 5 and all of the front and back surfaces, so that the mechanical durability of the thin film circuit 80 is remarkably improved. Can do.

  The electro-optic material 55 is not disposed at the position where the mounting terminal 911 exists, and the total thickness of the tape wiring 9 and the anisotropic conductive adhesive is substantially equal to the thickness of the electro-optic material 55. The electro-optical material 55 is removed from the mounting terminals 911, and the tape wiring 9 is mounted so as to have the same thickness here, so that the display device 2 has a uniform thickness as a whole. Accordingly, when the second substrate 54 coated with the electro-optic material 55 is bonded to the first substrate 53, when the protective sheet 61 is bonded, and when the sealing material 62 is cured, the mounting terminal 911 portion is transferred to the thin film circuit 80. It prevents cracks from breaking and destroying the circuit.

“Material of protective part”
The protective sheet 61 is made of a polyester film, a polypropylene film or the like, and a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film is formed as a barrier layer against water or oxygen on one surface or both surfaces thereof. A thermoplastic resin is applied as a hot-melt adhesive to the inner side surface of the protective sheet 61 (the surface in contact with the back surface of the first substrate 53 and the back surface of the second substrate 54), and the electro-optical panel 5 and the protective sheet 61 are bonded. ing. When the display device 2 is manufactured, the surface on which the hot melt adhesive is applied is combined with the electro-optical panel 5 and thermocompression-bonded in a vacuum so that the protective sheet 61 and the electro-optical panel 5 are bonded. By using the thermoplastic resin, the resin flows through the electro-optical panel 5 without any gaps, and the electro-optical panel 5 is fixed evenly up, down, left and right. If there is a slight gap and the electro-optical panel 5 is not fixed in the gap, the flexible thin film circuit 80 is likely to break from the portion. By using a thermoplastic resin as an adhesive for the protective sheet 61, this problem can be avoided, and a flexible display device 2 with significantly improved mechanical strength can be realized.

As the thermoplastic resin, an olefin resin, an olefin copolymer resin, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, or the like is used. Examples of the olefin resin include polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutene. Examples of the olefin copolymer resin include ethylene propylene, ethylene butene, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA), and the like. In order to increase the adhesive force between the substrate of the protective sheet 61 and the electro-optical panel 5 and to provide flexibility after bonding, it is preferable to apply a thermoplastic resin in two layers. In this case, first, a high melting temperature resin is applied to the base film, and then a low melting temperature resin is applied thereon to form an adhesive layer. As an example, a low-density polyethylene resin having a melting temperature of 90 ° C. to 120 ° C. is used as the high melting temperature resin, and an EVA resin having a melting temperature of 70 ° C. to 90 ° C. is used as the low melting temperature resin. Here, the melting temperature is the endothermic peak top temperature of melting when measured at a rate of temperature increase of 10 ° C./min in differential scanning calorimetry.
The adhesive applied to the inner surface of the protective sheet 61 may be a thermosetting resin or an ultraviolet light curable resin in addition to the thermoplastic resin.

  As the sealing material 62, the above-described thermoplastic resin may be used as it is, or a thermosetting resin or an ultraviolet curable resin may be newly disposed. In the display device 2 of FIG. 7, the thermoplastic resin of the protective sheet 61 is used as it is for the sealing material 62. In order to use the thermoplastic resin as it is, the thermoplastic resin is applied to the entire inner surface of the base film, and the electro-optical panel 5 is simply sandwiched between the protective sheets 61. If it carries out like this, the display apparatus 2 will be manufactured by a very easy process. The thermocompression bonding was performed by evacuating with a vacuum laminator for 30 seconds to obtain a vacuum of 250 Pa, and then pressure bonding was performed by applying a pressure of 0.2 MPa at 90 ° C. for 30 seconds.

  When a thermosetting resin or an ultraviolet curable resin is used as the sealing material 62, the protective sheet 61 is disposed above and below the electro-optical panel 5, and the sealing material 62 is applied to the outer edge portion 22 before thermocompression bonding. When the low-viscosity sealing material 62 having a viscosity of less than 10 mPas is used, the sealing material 62 enters between the upper and lower protective sheets by capillary action. In this state, the protective sheet 61 is adhered by thermocompression bonding, and if the sealing material 62 is a thermosetting resin, the sealing material 62 is simultaneously cured. When the sealing material 62 is an ultraviolet curable resin, the sealing material 62 is cured by irradiating with ultraviolet rays following the thermocompression bonding. As the thermosetting resin, phenol resin, melamine resin, polyurethane, or the like is used, and as the ultraviolet curable resin, epoxy resin, imide resin, acrylic resin, or the like is used. Since these thermosetting resins and ultraviolet curable resins have lower viscous fluidity at high temperatures than the above-described thermoplastic resins, they are excellent in waterproofness and gas barrier properties at high temperatures. In particular, the thermosetting resin has a strong tendency to increase the chemical durability of the display device 2 at high temperature and high humidity.

  The ideal cross-sectional structure that enhances the mechanical durability of the flexible display device 2 and at the same time increases the chemical durability in the direction parallel to the display surface is the inner side of the sealing material 62 (the one in contact with the electro-optical panel 5). A thermoplastic resin is disposed on the electro-optical panel 5 so that the electro-optical panel 5 is fixed without a gap, and the outer side (the side that contacts the outside air outside the sealing material 62) is hardened with a thermosetting resin. When a thermosetting resin is used for the sealing portion, it is preferable to provide the fixing notch portion 71 and the switch notch portion 42 at a place where the thermosetting resin is disposed. Since the thermosetting resin has better water resistance and gas barrier properties at higher temperatures than the thermoplastic resin, the chemicals from the horizontal direction are better than when these notches are provided in the thermoplastic resin part. This is because the mechanical durability can be increased.

  In the display device 2 of the present embodiment, the first substrate 53 is a PEN film having a thickness of 100 μm, the second substrate 54 is a PET film having a thickness of 100 μm, the upper and lower protective sheets 61 are PET films having a thickness of 100 μm, and protection The thickness of the thermoplastic resin provided on the surface of the sheet 61 was 10 μm, the thickness of the mounting portion 91 of the electro-optic material 55 and the tape wiring 9 was 50 μm, and the total thickness was about 0.47 mm. The display device 2 mainly having a plastic film and having a thickness of less than 1 mm has sufficient flexibility and can be bent from a curvature radius of 2 cm to 3 cm.

  Here, the thickness of each film was 100 μm as described above, but the total thickness of the four films was 100 μm or less (for example, the thickness of each film was 25 μm or less), and the total thickness was 0.17 mm or less. Then, the display device 2 can be wound up with a curvature radius of 1 cm. A film that is commercially available and relatively easy to handle has a thickness of 12.5 μm. When such a thin film is used, the total thickness of the display device 2 can be reduced to 0.12 mm or less, and the display device 2 can be wound with a curvature radius of about 3 mm. As described above, since the thickness of the flat housing 3 is 6.5 mm, the display device 2 can be wound around the housing 3 while the information display terminal 1 is not used.

“Center of Information Display Terminal”
FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing the usage state of the information display terminal. As described so far, the center of gravity of the information display terminal is located near the outer edge portion, away from the center of the device. Here, this will be specifically verified with reference to FIG. 8 and the ease of use of the information display terminal will be demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the lower side of the information display terminal 1 is the x axis, and the right side is the y axis. Assume that the intersection of the lower side and the right side is the origin O, the x-axis extends to the left, and the y-axis extends upward.

First, the position of the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is obtained. The information display terminal 1 has a width (x direction) of 151 mm and a length (y direction) of 181 mm. The width of the display device 2 is 149 mm, the width W _F of the housing upper part 31 is 20 mm, the width W _B of the housing lower part 32 is 45 mm, overlap 18mm in the x direction and the housing 3 and the display device 2. Therefore, the distance between the right side of the display device 2 and the right side of the housing 3 is 2 mm. From these values, the center of gravity P of the display device 2 is P = (76.5, 90.5) using the (x, y) coordinates. Similarly, the center of gravity B of the housing lower part 32 is B = (22.5, 90.5), and the center of gravity F of the housing upper part 31 is F = (10, 90.5). It should be noted that the weight of the housing lower part 32 approximates that it is uniformly distributed in the housing lower part 32. On the other hand, the weights of the display device 2 are 14.6 g, the housing lower portion 32 is 25.9 g, and the housing upper portion 31 is 5.4 g. Therefore, the total weight of the information display terminal 1 is 45.9 g. The center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located at C = (38.2, 90.5) according to the center of gravity synthesis rule. The center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is 38.2 mm from the right outer edge portion 22 of the information display terminal 1 in the width direction (a position of 6.8 mm from the left side 32L of the housing lower portion 32 toward the center of the housing lower portion 32), It is located in the lower part 32 of the housing | casing in the position used as the center of the information display terminal 1 in the length direction.

  The center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is in the lower part 32 of the casing, and the lower part 32 of the casing is gripped (the right side 32R is placed on the lower part of the palm, the hand is gently rolled and the index finger, middle finger tip or ring finger tip is hooked on the left side 32L. , The information display terminal 1 is held), and the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is located on the palm. That is, when the information display terminal 1 is held in this way, the torque becomes almost zero. The torque at the time of holding the information display terminal 1 is not felt at all, and the load received by the entire palm is only 45.9 g. Even if the information display terminal 1 is held with one hand, it can be used for a long time without fatigue.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, consider the case where the information display terminal 1 is held with the thumb TB and the index finger IF held at the lower right. Assume that a thumb TB is hung on a position T 1 cm inward from the origin O, and an index finger IF is placed on the back of the position I 1 cm in the direction of the center of gravity from the thumb TB. In this way, the distance from the position I of the index finger IF to the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is 67 mm. For this reason, the torque applied to the thumb TB in this state (the force with which the thumb TB presses the information display terminal 1) is 308 g. The load applied to the index finger IF is 353 g. Conventionally, when a conventional information display terminal having exactly the same area is gripped in the same manner, the torque applied to the thumb TB is 3600 g and the load applied to the index finger IF is 4000 g. The torque and the load applied to the index finger IF have been reduced by 90% or more from the past. That is, in the past, the information display terminal 1 could not be used by grasping the corner, but this embodiment made it possible.

“Conditions where the center of gravity of the information display terminal is located in the lower part of the housing”
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the information display terminal in the horizontal direction, and shows the center of gravity and coordinates for each component. As described above, the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is located in the housing lower part 32. Here, the condition is shown using FIG. In the present embodiment, the housing 3 is positioned at the center in the vertical direction, and the y-coordinate Py of the center of gravity P of the display device 2 is the y-coordinate Fy of the center of gravity F of the housing upper portion 31 and the center of gravity B of the housing lower portion 32. It overlaps with y coordinate By. That is, the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located in the housing 3 in the vertical direction. Therefore, here, the lateral direction is considered.

First, the weight of the display device 2 is m _P , the weight of the upper part 31 of the casing (the total weight of the upper part 31 itself and the contents contained therein) is m _F, and the weight of the lower part 32 of the casing ( The total weight of the casing lower part 32 and the contents contained therein is defined as m _B. Furthermore, the ratio of the weight of the display device 2 to the entire information display terminal 1 is represented by α (α = m _P / (m _P + m _F + m _B )), and the ratio of the weight of the upper part 31 of the housing to the entire information display terminal 1 is expressed as It is represented by β (β = m _F / (m _P + m _F + m _B )). In addition, the width of the display device 2 and W _P. Regarding the width of the housing, as in the previous, expressed in the W _F and W _B. Further, the width of the overlapping portion between the display device 2 and the housing upper part 31 is defined as W _OL .

The x coordinate of the center of gravity P of the display device 2 is Px = W _P / 2 + W _F −W _OL . Similarly, the x coordinate of the center of gravity F of the upper portion 31 of the casing is Fx = W _F / 2, and the x coordinate of the center of gravity B of the lower portion 32 of the casing is Bx = W _B / 2. If these are used, the x-coordinate Cx of the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is

と記載される。情報表示端末１の重心Ｃが筐体下部３２内に位置する条件は、図９より、
０＜Ｃｘ＜Ｗ_B （数式２）
である。数式１を数式２に代入し、βに関して解くと、

It is described. The condition that the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located in the lower part 32 of the casing is as shown in FIG.
0 <Cx <W _B (Formula 2)
It is. Substituting Equation 1 into Equation 2 and solving for β,

となる。この数式３が筐体下部３２内に情報表示端末１の重心Ｃが位置する条件となる。先にも述べた様に筐体下部３２の幅（Ｗ_B）には最適値が存在し、表示装置の重さ（ｍ_P）や幅（Ｗ_P）は表示装置の大きさで定まるので、筐体上部３１の幅（Ｗ_F）や重なり部の幅（Ｗ_OL）、或いは筐体上部３１の重量の割合βを調整して数式３の条件を満たす。βを調整するには、筐体下部３２と筐体上部３１に収納する主回路基板や電池の配置を調整するのが好ましい。

It becomes. This Equation 3 is a condition that the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located in the housing lower part 32. As described above, there is an optimum value for the width (W _B ) of the lower portion 32 of the housing, and the weight (m _P ) and width (W _P ) of the display device are determined by the size of the display device. The width of the upper portion 31 (W _F ), the width of the overlapping portion (W _OL ), or the weight ratio β of the upper portion of the case 31 is adjusted to satisfy the condition of Equation 3. In order to adjust β, it is preferable to adjust the arrangement of the main circuit board and the battery housed in the housing lower portion 32 and the housing upper portion 31.

On the other hand, since β is the ratio of the weight of the upper part 31 of the casing to the entire information display terminal,
0 <β <1 (Formula 4)
It is. Therefore, as long as the left side of Equation 3 indicating the lower limit of β is 0 or less and the right side of Equation 3 indicating the upper limit is 1 or more, Equation 3 holds for any β. That is,

且つ、

and,

で有れば、筐体上部３１の重量の割合βに係わらず、情報表示端末１の重心Ｃは筐体下部３２内に位置することになる。数式５から、表示装置２の重量の割合αに対して、

, The center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located in the lower part 32 of the case regardless of the weight ratio β of the upper part 31 of the case. From Formula 5, for the weight ratio α of the display device 2,

との関係式が得られる。一方、数式６からは、

Is obtained. On the other hand, from Equation 6,

との関係式が得られる。所で、図９から明らかな様に、重なり部の幅（Ｗ_OL）は常に筐体上部３１の幅（Ｗ_F）よりも狭い。従って、

Is obtained. As is apparent from FIG. 9, the width (W _OL ) of the overlapping portion is always narrower than the width (W _F ) of the upper portion 31 of the casing. Therefore,

で有れば、必ず数式８は成り立つ。更に数式９右辺の第二項Ｗ_F／（２α）は必ず正であるから、

If so, Formula 8 always holds. Furthermore, since the second term W _F / (2α) on the right side of Equation 9 is always positive,

の条件を満たせば、数式９が成り立つ。数式１０は表示装置２の幅よりも筐体下部３２の幅が狭くなければならないとの条件である。こうして数式５と数式６とは、それぞれ数式７と数式１０とを意味する事になる。

If this condition is satisfied, Equation 9 is established. Formula 10 is a condition that the width of the housing lower part 32 must be narrower than the width of the display device 2. Thus, Equation 5 and Equation 6 mean Equation 7 and Equation 10, respectively.

Eventually, if the width of the housing lower part 32 is narrower than the width of the display device 2 and satisfies the mathematical formula 7, no matter what the ratio β of the weight of the housing upper part 31 is, Thus, the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located. The ratio (α) of the weight of the display device 2 to the entire information display terminal 1, the width (W _F ) of the upper portion 31 of the housing, and the width (W _OL ) of the overlapping portion between the display device 2 and the upper portion 31 of the housing Satisfy 7 In the present embodiment, α = 0.3181, the right side of Equation 7 is 0.4167, and Equation 7 is naturally satisfied.

  Next, the condition that the x coordinate (Cx) of the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 coincides with the x coordinate (Bx) of the center of gravity B of the lower portion 32 of the housing is shown. From Equation 1 and Cx = Bx, this is

となる。筐体上部３１の重量（ｍ_F）や筐体上部３１の幅（Ｗ_F）、及び表示装置２と筐体上部３１との重なり部の幅（Ｗ_OL）を、数式１１を満たす様にする。こうすると情報表示端末１の重心Ｃが筐体下部３２の中心に位置するので、図５に示す様に、情報表示端末１を片手で保持した際にトルクはゼロになり、極めて楽に情報表示端末１を使用できる。

It becomes. The weight (m _F ) of the case upper part 31, the width (W _F ) of the case upper part 31, and the width (W _OL ) of the overlapping portion between the display device 2 and the case upper part 31 are set to satisfy Expression 11. . In this way, since the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located at the center of the lower part 32 of the housing, the torque becomes zero when the information display terminal 1 is held with one hand, as shown in FIG. 1 can be used.

"Case length"
FIG. 10 is a front perspective view schematically showing the information display terminal of the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is also a front perspective view schematically showing the information display terminal of this embodiment. Here, the length of the housing 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

  In the information display terminal 1 described so far, the length of the housing 3 is slightly shorter than the length of the display device 2 as shown in FIG. However, the length of the housing 3 is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 10, the length of the housing 3 and the length of the side of the display device 2 on which the housing 3 is disposed may be substantially equal. “The lengths are almost equal” means that the difference in length is such that a person cannot notice at a glance. Specifically, the difference is less than 1 mm on one side and less than 2 mm in total. Say the situation.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11, the length of the housing 3 may be clearly shorter than the length of the side of the display device 2 in which the housing 3 is disposed. “Clearly short” means that the length is short enough for a person to immediately notice the difference in length. Specifically, the difference in length is 10 mm or more on one side and 20 mm or more in total. This is the situation.

"Location to install the chassis"
The housing 3 is installed on the outer edge 22 of the display device 2. In the description so far, the casing 3 has been installed on the long side of the rectangular display device 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be installed on a side other than the long side. For example, the housing 3 may be installed on the short side of the rectangular display device 2. Further, the rectangle has been described as an example of the display device 2 so far, but the display device 2 is not limited to a rectangle such as a rectangle or a square but may be a polygon such as a triangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, or an octagon. A configuration in which the housing 3 is installed on any side may be employed. At this time, the operation switch 4 is installed near the center of gravity in the width direction of the information display terminal 1.

As described above, according to the information display terminal 1 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the display device 2 is flexible and light, and the housing 3 is disposed on a part of the outer edge 22 of the display device 2 and is strong, the entire information display terminal 1 can be made thin and light. In particular, with respect to the weight, even if it has the same display area as the conventional one, it can be about one tenth. Since the area is the same and the weight is about one-tenth, when the information display terminal 1 is accidentally dropped, the drop speed is slower than the conventional one due to air resistance, and the information in the event of a collision with the floor The impact received by the display terminal 1 is reduced, and the impact resistance of the information display terminal 1 can be improved. In addition, since the display device is flexible, even if an impact such as dropping is applied, it is difficult to be damaged due to the buffering action of the display device itself. That is, even if the entire display device is not housed in the outer box using the reinforcing member as in the prior art, the practical strength can be ensured only by disposing the casing at a part of the outer edge of the display device. As a result, since the entire information display terminal can be made thin and light, it can be used for a long time without feeling tired. Further, even if the display device is enlarged, the weight is only slightly increased. Therefore, a portable information display terminal having a relatively large display area and usable for a long time can be realized. In other words, a user-friendly information portable terminal can be realized.

  Furthermore, since the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is located at the outer edge 22, even if the information display terminal 1 is accidentally dropped, in many cases, the casing 3 falls downward, The display device 2 does not receive a very strong impact. That is, a reinforcing member for the display device 2 is not necessary, and the information display terminal 1 can be made thin, light, and durable.

  In addition, since the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is located at the outer edge portion 22, if the user holds the casing 3 of the information display terminal 1 by hand, that is, it grasps the vicinity of the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1. . Since the vicinity of the center of gravity is grasped, the torque of the information display terminal 1 received by the user is extremely small. Thus, even if the information display terminal 1 is held with one hand, it can be used for a long time without fatigue.

  The display device 2 includes the electro-optical panel 5 and a protection unit 6 that covers the electro-optical panel 5, and the electro-optical panel 5 includes the display unit 21. Mechanical durability and chemical durability can be enhanced, and the display device 2 functions.

  Further, the display device 2 has a fixing cutout portion 71 in the protection portion 6, the housing 3 has a fixing projection 73, and the fixing projection 73 is fitted into the fixing cutout portion 71. The display device 2 can be fixed to the housing 3 in a direction parallel to the display surface of the display device 2.

  Further, since the housing upper portion 31 and the housing lower portion 32 sandwich a part of the outer edge portion 22 of the display device 2, the display device 2 is fixed to the housing 3 in the normal direction of the display surface of the display device 2. I can do things.

  In addition, since one side of the upper portion 31 of the housing and one side of the display unit 21 are overlapped, information can be displayed on the entire display unit 21 in front view, and other than the display unit 21 Thus, an area in which the electro-optic material 55 is not controlled can be covered with the upper portion 31 of the housing, and the information display terminal 1 having excellent aesthetics can be obtained.

The width W _F of the housing top 31 is narrower than the width W _B of the housing lower part 32, since the housing lower part 32 overlaps at the rear view and the back of the display unit 21, a main controlling the information display terminal 1 Since the circuit board 324 and the battery are incorporated in the relatively large housing lower part 32 and the housing upper part 31 is small, most of the information display terminal 1 can be used as the display unit 21 in a front view.

The width W _B of the housing lower part 32 because it is 3cm or more 6cm or less, the information display terminal 1 can be easily held. Further, since the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is on the palm, the user hardly feels the torque. That is, the information display terminal 1 can be used without causing the hands and fingers to feel tired.

  Further, the display device 2 is a flat polygon, and a part of the outer edge portion 22 is one side forming a polygon. Therefore, in the front view, most of the information display terminal 1 can be the display portion 21 and the center of gravity can be increased. It is possible to locate in the vicinity of the outer edge portion 22.

  Further, since the display device 2 has the switch cutout portion 42 in the protection portion 6 and the operation switch 4 in the switch cutout portion 42, the operation switch 4 is displayed as an information via the switch cutout portion 42. The information display terminal 1 can be provided in front of the terminal 1 and has excellent operability.

  Further, since the electro-optical panel 5 is formed with the thin film circuit 80 (pixel circuit 81 or the like) using the TFT on the first substrate 53, the plurality of pixels 513 provided in the display unit 21 can be controlled independently, Enables high-quality display.

  Further, since the semiconductor layer of the TFT is a crystalline silicon film, and the thin film circuit 80 includes the pixel circuit 81 and the driving circuit, the number of wirings in the mounting portion 91 can be remarkably reduced. As a result, the manufacturing yield can be improved, and at the same time, the product life can be extended.

  The first substrate 53 is a plastic film, and the thin film circuit 80 is formed of a thin film circuit 80 on a glass substrate, and then the thin film circuit 80 is peeled off from the glass substrate and adhered to the plastic film. The display device 2 having the characteristics can be manufactured relatively easily.

  Further, when the casing 3 is installed on the short side of the rectangular display device 2, the index finger can be attached in the width direction of the casing lower portion 32, and the surface of the casing upper portion 31 can be held between the thumbs. Even if you hold it with one hand, the information display terminal 1 is lightweight, and its center of gravity is located in or near the lower part 32 of the housing. Therefore, the information display terminal 1 can be used for a long time without feeling tired. You can continue to use it. Therefore, for example, in a crowded train, it is possible to operate while grasping the hanging leather with one hand and grasping the information display terminal 1 with the other hand. At this time, since the operation switch 4 is installed near the center of gravity in the width direction of the information display terminal 1, if the vicinity of the switch is grasped with the thumb, the vicinity of the center of gravity is naturally grasped, and the torque in the width direction is hardly increased. The information display terminal 1 can be freely operated with a slight movement of the thumb.

(Embodiment 2)
"The form in which the case is arranged other than the center in the vertical direction"
FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing the information display terminal according to this embodiment in a front view.
The information display terminal according to this embodiment will be described below. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 1, the same number is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
The present embodiment (FIG. 12) differs from the first embodiment (FIG. 1) in the installation position of the casing in the vertical direction. Other configurations are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the housing 3 is installed on the right side of the display device 2 and downward in the vertical direction. When the display unit 21 becomes larger than A4 size (210 mm x 297 mm) or B4 size (257 mm x 364 mm) or more, as shown in FIG. 12, the housing 3 is shifted from the center on the right side of the display device 2. You may do it. In FIG. 12, the housing 3 is installed below the right side. As in the first embodiment, the operation switch 4 is disposed at a position where the operation switch 4 can be operated with the thumb when the lower part 32 of the casing is gripped. Hereinafter, a condition for the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 to be located in the lower part 32 of the housing when the center of gravity of the housing 3 does not coincide with the center of gravity of the display device 2 in the vertical direction will be described. The housing 3 may be installed on the right side above the center.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view in the vertical direction of the information display terminal, in which the center of gravity and coordinates are drawn for each component. First, the length of the display device 2 and L _P, the length of the housing upper part 31 and L _F, the length of the housing lower part 32 and L _B, the distance from the origin to the housing lower side with L _E . Other symbols and notation methods are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The y coordinate of the center of gravity P of the display device 2 is Py = L _P / 2. Y-coordinate of the center of gravity F of the housing top _{31, Fy = L F / 2 +} L E , and the same also y-coordinate of the center of gravity B of the housing lower part 32, it is _{By = L B / 2 + L} E. Note that L _F = L _B. If these are used, the y coordinate Cy of the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is

と記載される。情報表示端末１の重心Ｃが筐体下部３２内に位置する条件は、筐体３の重心が表示装置２の重心より下方に位置する場合には、
Ｃｙ＜Ｌ_B＋Ｌ_E （数式１３）
となり、筐体３の重心が表示装置２の重心より上方に位置する場合には、
Ｃｙ＞Ｌ_E （数式１４）
ある。数式１２を数式１３乃至は数式１４に代入して、αに関して解くと、筐体３の重心が表示装置２の重心より下方に位置するか上方に位置するかに係わらず、情報表示端末１の重心Ｃが縦方向で筐体３内に位置する為の条件が、

It is described. The condition that the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is located in the lower part 32 of the housing is that the center of gravity of the housing 3 is located below the center of gravity of the display device 2.
Cy <L _B + L _E (Equation 13)
When the center of gravity of the housing 3 is located above the center of gravity of the display device 2,
Cy> L _E (Equation 14)
is there. Substituting Equation 12 into Equation 13 to Equation 14 and solving for α, the case of the information display terminal 1 is determined regardless of whether the center of gravity of the housing 3 is located below or above the center of gravity of the display device 2. The condition for the center of gravity C to be positioned in the casing 3 in the vertical direction is

と記述される。この数式１５を満たす様に、表示装置２の長さ（Ｌ_P）や、筐体上部３１の長さ（Ｌ_F）、筐体下部３２の長さ（Ｌ_B）、原点から筐体下辺までの距離（Ｌ_E）、情報表示端末１全体に対する表示装置２の重量の割合を（α）を定める。

Is described. The length (L _P ) of the display device 2, the length (L _F ) of the upper part of the casing 31, the length (L _B ) of the lower part of the casing 32, and the origin to the lower side of the casing so as to satisfy this formula 15. The distance (L _E ) and the ratio of the weight of the display device 2 to the entire information display terminal 1 are defined as (α).

  Since α is always between zero and one,

が成り立てば、どんなαに対しても情報表示端末１の重心のｙ座標Ｃｙは、必ず筐体３内に位置する事になる。具体的に記すと、筐体３の重心が表示装置２の重心より下方に位置する場合には、

Is established, the y coordinate Cy of the center of gravity of the information display terminal 1 is always located in the housing 3 for any α. Specifically, when the center of gravity of the housing 3 is located below the center of gravity of the display device 2,

を満たす様にし、筐体３の重心が表示装置２の重心より上方に位置する場合には、

If the center of gravity of the housing 3 is located above the center of gravity of the display device 2,

を満たす様にする。

To satisfy.

  By satisfying Expression 15 to Expression 17 or Expression 18, even when the center of gravity of the housing 3 does not coincide with the center of gravity of the display device 2 in the vertical direction, the center of gravity C of the information display terminal 1 is It comes to be located in the housing 3.

(Embodiment 3)
"The display device is equipped with an impact cushioning sheet"
14 is a cross-sectional view of the display device extracted from FIG. 2, and corresponds to a cross section taken along line AA ′ of FIG. For reference, the fixing notch 71 is also drawn with a broken line.
The information display terminal according to this embodiment will be described below. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 1, the same number is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
The present embodiment (FIG. 14) differs from the first embodiment (FIG. 7) in the structure of the display device. Other configurations are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the protection unit 6 includes a back impact cushioning sheet 631 in addition to the protection sheet 61 and the sealing material 62, and the back impact cushioning sheet 631 covers the back surface of the electro-optical panel 5. Further, the protection unit 6 may include a front shock absorbing sheet 632, and the front shock absorbing sheet 632 covers the front surface of the electro-optical panel 5. The back impact buffer sheet 631 has the same shape as the first substrate 53 (in this case, a rectangle) and has almost the same area, and covers the back surface of the first substrate 53. Similarly, the front impact cushioning sheet 632 has the same shape as the second substrate 54 (in this case, a rectangle) and substantially the same area, and covers the back surface of the second substrate 54. The inner side surface of the back side protective sheet 61 is bonded to the outside of the rear shock buffer sheet 631, and the inner side surface of the front side protective sheet 61 is bonded to the outer side of the front shock buffer sheet 632. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the front impact cushioning sheet 632 and the rear impact cushioning sheet 631, both are simply referred to as an impact cushioning sheet.

  The rear impact cushioning sheet 631 may be slightly larger than the first substrate 53. Specifically, each side corresponding to the rear impact cushioning sheet 631 is larger than each side of the first substrate 53 within a range of 1 mm to 3 mm. Then, the first substrate 53 may be completely included. Similarly, the front shock-absorbing sheet 632 may be slightly larger than the second substrate 54. Specifically, each side corresponding to the front shock-absorbing sheet 632 is in the range of 1 mm to 3 mm rather than each side of the second substrate 54. The second substrate 54 may be completely encapsulated by enlarging the inside. Since the shock absorbing sheet protruding from the first substrate 53 or the second substrate 54 does not contribute to display, it is preferable that the protruding portion is as narrow as possible. In FIG. 14, the second substrate 54 is 1 mm larger than the first substrate 53, and the shock absorbing sheet is the same size as the second substrate 54. That is, each side of the back impact buffer sheet 631 is 1 mm longer than the corresponding side of the first substrate 53, and the front impact buffer sheet 632 is the same size as the second substrate 54. The protective sheet 61 is made larger in the range of 1 mm to 9 mm than the shock absorbing sheet at each side where the housing 3 is not installed, and at the side where the housing 3 is installed. , Larger than the shock absorbing sheet within a range of 5 mm to 13 mm.

  A transparent soft elastomer sheet is used for the shock absorbing sheet. The flexible elastomer sheet is a rubber-like high-molecular substance exhibiting high elasticity, and is a gel sheet, a thermosetting elastomer sheet, a thermoplastic elastomer sheet, or the like. These are excellent in impact energy absorption, and protect the flexible electro-optical panel 5 from external impact and stress. As the gel sheet, a urethane gel sheet or a styrene-based gel sheet can be used. As the thermosetting elastomer sheet, a urethane rubber sheet, a silicone rubber sheet, a fluorine rubber sheet, or the like can be used. As the thermoplastic elastomer sheet, an acrylic elastomer sheet (a block copolymer of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate), a polyurethane elastomer sheet (a polymer of long chain glycol and short chain glycol, and diisocyanate), or the like can be used. When a thermoplastic elastomer sheet is used, it may be used as a hot melt adhesive for the protective sheet 61. In this embodiment, a urethane gel sheet is used.

  The thicker the shock-absorbing sheet, the higher the shock-absorbing property, and the mechanical durability of the information display terminal 1 is increased. On the other hand, if it is too thick, the information display terminal 1 becomes heavy, and its operability may be impaired. Considering these matters comprehensively, the thickness of the shock-absorbing sheet is preferably 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. In addition, it is preferable that the thickness of the front shock absorbing sheet 632 and the thickness of the back shock absorbing sheet 631 are substantially equal. In this embodiment, both the front impact cushioning sheet 632 and the rear impact cushioning sheet 631 have a thickness of 0.25 mm.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness of the PEN film of the first substrate 53 is 25 μm, the thickness of the PET film of the second substrate 54 is 25 μm, and the thickness of the PET film of the protective sheet 61 is 25 μm. It was .67 mm. Further, the weight of the display device 2 was 19.2 g, and the total weight of the information display terminal 1 was 50.5 g. An information display terminal 1 having a shock absorbing sheet disposed on the display device 2 and having a thin and flexible display device 2, a light overall device, excellent operability, and sufficient durability was produced.

As described above, according to the information display terminal 1 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the back shock absorbing sheet 631 covers the back surface of the electro-optic panel 5, the possibility of breakage can be reduced even if an impact or stress is applied to the display device 2 from the back surface. In addition, when the display unit 21 is bent, the end of the housing lower part 32 may apply a strong local stress to the display device 2. However, since the back impact buffer sheet 631 relaxes the stress, the bending stress It is possible to prevent the display device 2 from being damaged. Furthermore, even if the battery or the electronic element 325 mounted on the main circuit board 324 is pressed against the back surface of the display device 2, the back impact cushioning sheet 631 relaxes these unevenness and the accompanying spatial pressure distribution. As a result, the probability that the information display terminal 1 is damaged during the manufacturing is reduced, and the productivity (yield) can be improved.

  In addition, since the front shock absorbing sheet 632 covers the front surface of the electro-optical panel 5, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the display device 2 will be damaged even if an impact or stress is applied from the front. Furthermore, since the front shock-absorbing sheet 632 relaxes the stress applied to the display device 2 by the end of the upper portion 31 when the display device 2 is bent, the display device 2 can be prevented from being damaged by local stress. .

  In addition, since the shock-absorbing sheet is 1 mm or more larger than the first substrate 53 or the second substrate 54, the shock-absorbing sheet can completely cover the electro-optical panel 5 even if a slight misalignment occurs during manufacture. Mechanical durability can be increased. In addition, since the size of the shock absorbing sheet is 3 mm or less than the size of the first substrate 53 or the second substrate 54, the shock absorbing sheet portion that does not contribute to the display and the protective portion 6 can be narrowed, and the entire device can be reduced. A compact and easy-to-use information display terminal 1 having a large display area can be realized.

  Further, since the thickness of the front impact cushioning sheet 632 and the thickness of the rear impact cushioning sheet 631 are substantially equal, the front impact cushioning sheet 632 and the rear impact cushioning sheet 631 are made of the same material or similar materials. The stress is equal between the front surface and the back surface, and the display device 2 can be flattened in a natural state. Further, even when the display device 2 is intentionally bent or rounded, the stress neutral surface comes near the thin film circuit 80 near the center in the cross-sectional direction of the display device 2. It becomes hard to break. That is, durability against bending of the flexible display device 2 can be improved.

(Embodiment 4)
"Equipped with a circuit protection film on the main circuit board"
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the information display terminal according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to a cross section taken along line AA ′ of FIG. The operation switches are also drawn for reference.
The information display terminal according to this embodiment will be described below. In addition, about the component same as Embodiment 1, the same number is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
This embodiment (FIG. 15) differs from the first embodiment (FIG. 2) in the structure on the main circuit board. Other configurations are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

  The information display terminal shown in FIG. 15 is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that a circuit protective film 327 is inserted between the main circuit board 324 and the display device 2. As described in the section “Cross-sectional structure of the information display terminal 1” in the first embodiment, the size of the electronic element 325 mounted on the main circuit board 324 varies, and the height also varies from element to element. Solder is also placed on the surface of the main circuit board 324, and these electronic elements 325 and solder make the surface of the main circuit board 324 uneven. Therefore, the surface of the main circuit board 324 and the back surface of the display device 2 are not in surface contact, and actually, the tall electronic element 325 or the apex of the solder and the back surface of the display device 2 are in point contact. In this situation, when the display device 2 and the housing 3 are assembled into the information display terminal 1, the force applied to the housing 3 at the time of assembly may be concentrated on the apex of the convex portion that is in point contact. That is, an extremely strong pressure is locally applied to the display device 2 (in the form of dots), and thus there is a problem that the display device 2 is damaged. In the present embodiment, this problem is solved by disposing a circuit protection film 327 between the main circuit board 324 and the display device 2 as shown in FIG.

  The circuit protective film 327 can be made of the same material (soft elastomer sheet) as the shock-absorbing sheet described in the second embodiment. However, the circuit protection film 327 does not need to be transparent. Here, a thermoplastic urethane elastomer sheet was used.

  The thickness of the circuit protection film 327 is equal to or greater than the thickness of the tallest (thick) object in the electronic element 325 being used. Since the thickness of the electronic element 325 is about 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, the thickness of the circuit protection film 327 is 0.3 mm or more. On the other hand, if the thickness is too thick, the housing 3 becomes thick and the operability deteriorates. The height of the solder mounted on the main circuit board 324 is set to be equal to or less than the thickness of the thickest electronic element 325 (about 0.3 mm). The thickness of the thermoplastic urethane elastomer sheet used in this embodiment was 0.4 mm.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the information display terminal according to the present embodiment in the vicinity of the main circuit board. (A) is a view before assembling the casing and the display device, and (b) is a view after being assembled. is there.
As shown in FIG. 16A, the circuit protection film 327 is provided with unevenness complementary to the unevenness of the main circuit board 324. By arranging the circuit protection film 327 having complementary irregularities on the main circuit board 324, the irregularities of the main circuit board 324 are absorbed. The simplest thing as a complementary unevenness | corrugation provided in the circuit protection film 327 is a thing which provides a hole and a notch (henceforth a complementary hole) in the circuit protection film 327 as a recessed part. When the circuit protection film 327 is disposed on the main circuit board 324, the complementary hole is provided in a place where the electronic element 325 or solder is present or a place where the tall electronic element 325 or solder is located (the highest convex portion). . Since the circuit protective film 327 is thicker than the electronic element 325, the display device 2 at the time of assembly can be easily absorbed by providing the complementary holes as shown in FIG. The probability of breakage can be reduced to almost zero percent. The complementary hole can be formed by punching the circuit protection film 327 at a site corresponding to the position of the electronic element 325 or solder. This method is simple and mass-productive.

  As a method for producing complementary irregularities on the circuit protection film 327, a thermoplastic elastomer sheet is disposed on the main circuit board 324, and then a fluororesin film such as polytetrafluoroethylene is disposed thereon. There is a method in which this is smooth and uniformly heat-pressed from above, and finally the fluororesin film is peeled off. Thermocompression bonding may be performed under conditions of 90 ° C., 0.2 MPa, and about 30 seconds, whereby the thermoplastic elastomer is viscously flowed and its surface becomes flat. In addition, a mold for the main circuit board 324 may be made, and a liquid resin may be poured into the main circuit board 324 at a high temperature, and the resin may be peeled off after cooling to form the circuit protection film 327.

  In the present embodiment, most of the electronic elements 325 are disposed on the back surface of the main circuit board 324, and only a few chip capacitors are disposed on the front surface, so that the capacitor portion of the thermoplastic urethane elastomer sheet is disposed on the surface. Complementary holes were provided.

As described above, according to the information display terminal 1 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first to third embodiments.
Since the circuit protective film 327 is sandwiched between the surface of the main circuit board 324 and the back surface of the display device 2, the probability that the information display terminal 1 is damaged when the display device 2 and the housing 3 are assembled is reduced, and the productivity is increased. (Yield) can be improved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. A modification will be described below.

(Modification 1)
"Examples of different fixing means"
FIG. 17 schematically shows components of the information display terminal according to the first modification in a front view, (a) shows a display device, (b) shows an upper part of the housing, c) is a diagram showing the lower part of the housing. This modification (FIG. 17) differs from the first embodiment (FIGS. 3 and 4) in the shape of the fixing means. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the fixing notch 71 is a circular hole, the fixing protrusion 73 is a cylinder, and the fixing recess 72 is also circular. These fixing means are not limited to a circular shape, and various shapes are used. In this modification, the shape is a bowl with the tip bent at a right angle. That is, as shown in FIG. 17 (a), the fixing notch 71 has a bowl-shaped cut, and as shown in FIG. 17 (b), the fixing recess 72 has a bowl-shaped recess. As shown in FIG. 17C, the fixing protrusion 73 is a hook-shaped protrusion. Thus, the fixing means may have any shape as long as the display device 2 can be fixed in the horizontal direction of the display surface.

(Modification 2)
“Example of drive circuit not built in TFT”
FIG. 18 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal according to the second modification. This modified example (FIG. 18) differs from the first embodiment (FIG. 6) in that the drive circuit is not built in the TFT. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted. 18 is also drawn with the electro-optic material 55 and the second substrate 54 omitted as in FIG.

  In Embodiment 1 (FIG. 6), a crystalline silicon TFT is used for a thin film element, and the thin film circuit 80 includes a pixel circuit 81 and a drive circuit. However, the TFT used for the thin film element is not limited to this. The thin film circuit 80 may not include a driving circuit. Furthermore, as shown in this modification, the semiconductor layer of the TFT may be an amorphous silicon film, an organic semiconductor, or an oxide containing zinc or tin. When the semiconductor layer is an amorphous silicon film, it is called an amorphous silicon TFT, when it is an organic semiconductor film it is called an organic TFT, and when it is an oxide containing zinc or tin, it is called an oxide TFT. The TFT used for the thin film element may be an amorphous silicon TFT, an organic TFT, or an oxide TFT.

  The thin film circuit 80 includes a pixel circuit 81 and does not necessarily include a driver circuit. This is because it is difficult for these TFTs to have a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) configuration, and the mobility of the semiconductor layer is small. Reflecting this, in this modified example, as shown in FIG. 18, the driving circuit is not built in the TFT, and the pixel circuit 81 is formed as a thin film circuit in the pixel region 511 in the display unit 21. A substrate wiring 84 for supplying a signal to the pixel circuit 81 is formed on the outer periphery of the region where the circuit 81 is formed. A plurality of scanning lines are collected at one place to form a scanning line mounting portion 912, and an integrated circuit made of a silicon chip is connected to the scanning line mounting portion 912 to form a scanning circuit 82. Similarly, signal lines are gathered in one place to form a signal line mounting portion 913, and an integrated circuit made of a silicon chip is connected to the signal line mounting portion 913 to form a signal circuit 83. Since the display device 2 has the housing 3 at a part of the outer edge portion 22, the outer peripheral scanning wiring group connected to the scanning line and the outer peripheral signal wiring group connected to the signal line are both used as the substrate wiring 84 on one side of the first substrate 53. (Right side in FIG. 18), and a mounting portion 91 in which the scanning line mounting portion 912 and the signal line mounting portion 913 are combined is provided on this side. In this example, since the number of pixels is small, the substrate wiring 84 (peripheral scanning wiring group and outer peripheral signal wiring group) is provided only in the non-pixel area on the lower side and the non-pixel area on the right side of the pixel area 511. If the number is increased, the substrate wirings 84 may be provided in the non-pixel regions on all sides. The non-pixel area where the substrate wiring 84 is arranged is covered with a blank electrode to form a blank area 512, and the pixel area 511 and the blank area 512 are combined to form the display unit 21. Note that a tape wiring 9 such as COF or TCP is connected to the mounting portion 91.

  Setting the portion of the substrate wiring 84 as the blank area 512 eliminates the possibility that the electro-optic material 55 on the substrate wiring 84 may display unintentionally disorderly when various signals are applied to the scanning lines and signal lines. Because of that. Thereby, the display device 2 having a beautiful appearance is obtained.

  Since the manufacturing temperature of the amorphous silicon TFT, organic TFT, and oxide TFT can be lowered relatively easily, these TFTs may be directly formed using the first substrate 53 as a plastic film. In this case, in order to facilitate the handling of the first substrate 53 during manufacture, a plastic film is fixed to the glass substrate, and the thin film circuit 80 is directly formed on the film. In this way, the flexible display device 2 can be manufactured relatively easily. In addition, these TFTs may be directly formed on a plastic film by using a printing method, or may be directly formed by a roll-to-roll method.

  In the present modification, a lower gate type is used as the TFT, and a gate electrode is formed from the first substrate 53 side by a first wiring, a gate insulating film is formed thereon, and a semiconductor film is formed thereon.

(Modification 3)
“Example of drive circuit partially built in TFT”
FIG. 19 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal according to Modification 3. Compared with the first embodiment (FIG. 6), this modification (FIG. 19) includes a part of the drive circuit (scanning circuit 82) built in the TFT, and the other part of the drive circuit (signal circuit 83) The difference is that it is not built in the TFT. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted. In FIG. 19, the electro-optic material 55 and the second substrate 54 are omitted as in FIG.

  In this modification, as in Modification 2, the TFT used for the thin film element is an amorphous silicon TFT, an organic TFT, or an oxide TFT. As described in the second modification, it is difficult to form a high-grade drive circuit using these TFTs, but a simple low-speed operation circuit can be incorporated. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, if a scanning circuit 82 (scanning line selection circuit) having an operation clock frequency of about several hundred kHz, these TFTs can be incorporated.

  In FIG. 19, the thin film circuit 80 includes a pixel circuit 81 and a scanning circuit 82. As a result, the number of terminals of the mounting portion 91 can be reduced, and mounting defects can be reduced as compared with the second modification.

(Modification 4)
“Example of case provided on two adjacent sides of display device”
FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically showing an information display terminal according to the modified example 4, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a rear view. This modification (FIG. 20) is different from the first embodiment (FIG. 1) in that the housing 3 is provided on two adjacent sides of the display device 2. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In this modification, as shown in FIG. 20, the housing 3 is provided on one corner of a polygon forming the display device 2 and two adjacent sides that form the corner. Two adjacent sides are one long side of a rectangle and an adjacent short side perpendicular thereto.

FIG. 21 is a diagram schematically showing components of the information display terminal according to the modified example 4 in a front view, where (a) is the display device 2, (b) is the upper part 31 of the case, and (c) is the case. A lower portion 32.
As shown in FIG. 21A, the display device 2 used in this modification is provided with the tape wiring 9 on two sides where the housing 3 is installed. Both the fixing cutout 71 and the switch cutout 42 provided in the protection portion 6 are formed avoiding the tape wiring 9.

As can be seen from FIGS. 21B and 21C, the housing 3 has a shape in which two rectangles are orthogonal to the bowl shape. Similarly to Embodiment 1, the width W _B is wider than the width W _F, the main circuit board 324 and the power supply in the housing lower part 32 is accommodated.

FIG. 22 is a front view schematically showing an electro-optical panel used in an information display terminal according to Modification 4. Also in FIG. 22, the electro-optic material 55 and the second substrate 54 are omitted.
When the amorphous silicon TFT, organic TFT, or oxide TFT described in Modification 2 is used for a thin film element, when the number of pixels increases, the scanning line mounting portion 912 and the signal line mounting portion 913 are It becomes difficult to collect on one side. In addition, even if the scanning circuit 82 described in Modification 3 is incorporated in the TFT, if the number of pixels is large, the operation clock frequency may not satisfy the required specifications, or the power consumption in the scanning circuit 82 may be too large. , There are things that can not be built. When the number of pixels is increased and low power consumption is required, a scanning line mounting portion 912 is provided on one side (the lower side in FIG. 22) of the first substrate 53 as shown in FIG. The mounting portion 913 is provided on the side adjacent to the side where the scanning line mounting portion 912 is provided (the right side in FIG. 22). In this way, the tape wiring 9 connected to the mounting portion 91 is also provided on two adjacent sides forming the outer edge portion 22 of the display device 2.

(Modification 5)
“Example of non-square display device”
FIG. 23 is a front view schematically showing an information display terminal according to Modification 5. This modification (FIG. 23) differs in the planar shape of the display apparatus 2, etc. compared with Embodiment 1 (FIG. 1). The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the display device 2 has a polygonal shape, but the planar shape of the display device 2 is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 23, the display device 2 has a heart shape, a circular shape, an oval shape, It may be in various forms such as a star shape. FIG. 23 shows a stationary digital photo frame in which the display device 2 has a heart shape.

  In the first embodiment, the information display terminal 1 is an electronic book, but is not limited thereto. As shown in the definition, since the information display terminal 1 is an electronic device having a function of displaying information, in addition to an electronic book, an Internet browsing device, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a video image viewer, a digital photo frame It may be a navigation system, personal digital assistant, or the like.

(Modification 6)
"Example of display device formed in thin glass"
This will be described with reference to FIG.
This modification is different from the first embodiment in that the first substrate 53 is thin glass. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the thin film circuit 80 is transferred from the glass substrate to the plastic film, but the display device 2 having flexibility is not limited to this configuration. For example, after the thin film circuit 80 is formed on the surface of the glass substrate having a thickness of 0.5 mm to 1.1 mm by a normal TFT process, the back surface of the glass substrate may be shaved by etching or the like to be thinned to 0.1 mm or less. . When the thickness of the glass substrate is 0.1 mm or less, flexibility is exhibited.

(Modification 7)
"Example of display device formed on a thin metal plate"
This will be described with reference to FIG.
This modification is different from the first embodiment in that the first substrate 53 is a thin metal plate. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the thin film circuit 80 is transferred from the glass substrate to the plastic film, but the display device 2 having flexibility is not limited to this configuration. For example, a thin stainless steel substrate may be covered with an inorganic film such as a silicon oxide film or a nitrogen oxide film, or an organic film such as polyimide, and the thin film circuit 80 may be formed thereon. The thin film circuit 80 may be transferred to a metal plate as in the first embodiment, or may be directly formed on the metal plate. In particular, when the metal plate is covered with an inorganic film, a normal TFT process can be used.

(Modification 8)
“Examples of electro-optic materials other than electrophoretic materials”
This will be described with reference to FIG.
This modification differs from the first embodiment in that a liquid crystal material or the like is used as the electro-optic material 55 instead of the electrophoretic material. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, an electrophoretic material is used as the electro-optic material 55. However, as the electro-optic material 55, a liquid crystal material, an organic or inorganic electro-luminescent material, an electro-chromic material, or the like is used. Also good. Accordingly, the display device 2 is a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic or inorganic electroluminescence display (also known as a light emitting diode display, LED display), an electrochromic display (ECD), or the like. It becomes. The information display terminal 1 having these display devices 2 is used for electronic devices such as electronic books, televisions, mobile phones, and personal computers.

(Modification 9)
“Example of common electrode made on the first substrate”
This will be described with reference to FIG.
Modification 9 is different from Embodiment 1 (FIG. 7) in that the common electrode 541 is formed on the first substrate 53 side. The rest of the configuration is almost the same as in the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.
In Embodiment 1 (FIG. 7), the common electrode 541 is formed on the second substrate 54, but this is not essential, and the common electrode 541 may be formed on the first substrate 53. In this case, the common electrode 541 is provided in each pixel 513 of the first substrate 53, and an electric field having an electric field component parallel to the surface of the first substrate 53 is applied to the electro-optic material 55. It becomes an optical device. Applicable to EPDs and wide viewing angle liquid crystal displays that are electrophoresed in the horizontal direction.

  In the description so far, the display area has been described as an active matrix, but the display area may be a passive matrix.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information display terminal, 2 ... Display apparatus, 3 ... Housing | casing, 4 ... Operation switch, 5 ... Electro-optical panel, 6 ... Protection part, 9 ... Tape wiring, 21 ... Display part, 22 ... Outer edge part, 31 ... Housing Upper part of body, 32 ... lower part of casing, 42 ... notch portion for switch, 53 ... first substrate, 54 ... second substrate, 55 ... electro-optic material, 71 ... notch portion for fixing, 73 ... projection for fixing, 80 ... Thin film circuit, 81 ... Pixel circuit, 82 ... Scanning circuit, 83 ... Signal circuit, 631 ... Back impact buffer sheet, 632 ... Front impact buffer sheet.

Claims (21)

A display device having flexibility, a housing for holding the display device, and a main circuit board for controlling the display device ,
The display device includes at least an electro-optical panel and a protection unit that covers the electro-optical panel,
The housing includes a housing upper portion and a housing lower portion, and is disposed at a part of an outer edge portion of the display device , and the housing upper portion and the housing lower portion sandwich a part of the outer edge portion. And
The main circuit board is housed inside the lower part of the casing with the back surface in contact with the bottom surface inside the lower part of the casing and the surface in contact with the rear face of the display device via an adhesive. Information display terminal characterized by things. A circuit protection film is disposed between the display device and the main circuit board,
The information display terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuit protective film is provided with unevenness complementary to the unevenness of the main circuit board. Information display terminal according to claim 1 or 2 centroid of the information display terminal, characterized in that positioned in the housing. The display device has a notch for fixing at a portion that is the protective portion and does not overlap with the electro-optical panel in front view,
The housing has a fixing protrusion corresponding to the fixing notch,
The information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fixing protrusion is fitted into the fixing notch. The upper part of the casing does not overlap with the display unit of the electro-optic panel in front view, and the lower part of the casing overlaps with the back side of the display unit of the electro-optic panel in rear view. Item 5. The information display terminal according to any one of Items 1 to 4 . The upper part of the casing is a flat plate having a casing upper part length and a casing upper part width,
The lower part of the case is a flat plate having a lower part length and a lower part width of the case,
The information display terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the upper width of the casing is shorter than the lower width of the casing. The information display terminal according to claim 6 , wherein the lower width of the housing is 3 cm or more and 6 cm or less. The display device is a flat polygon,
The information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a part of the outer edge portion is one side forming the polygon. The display device is a flat polygon,
The information display according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein a part of the outer edge is one corner forming the polygon and two adjacent sides forming the one corner. Terminal. The protective portion includes a rear shock absorbing sheet, the rear shock absorber sheet information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that for covering the rear surface of the electro-optical panel. The protective portion includes a front shock absorbing sheet, the front shock absorbing sheet information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that for covering the front of the electro-optical panel. 12. The information display terminal according to claim 11 , wherein the thickness of the front shock absorbing sheet is substantially equal to the thickness of the back shock absorbing sheet. The display device has a cutout portion for a switch at a portion that is the protective portion and does not overlap with the electro-optical panel in front view,
The information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 12 , wherein an operation switch is provided in the notch for the switch. The electro-optical panel includes a first substrate and a second substrate, and an electro-optical material sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate,
The information display terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 13 , wherein a thin film circuit using a thin film transistor is formed on the first substrate. The semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is a crystalline silicon film,
The thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit and a driving circuit,
The pixel circuit is formed in the display unit,
15. The information display terminal according to claim 14 , wherein the driving circuit is formed on an outer peripheral portion of a region where the pixel circuit is formed. 16. The information display terminal according to claim 14, wherein the first substrate is a plastic film, and the thin film circuit is bonded to the plastic film. The information display terminal according to claim 14 or 15 , wherein the first substrate is glass having a thickness of 0.1 mm or less. The semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is an amorphous silicon film,
The thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit;
The pixel circuit is formed in the display unit,
15. The information display terminal according to claim 14 , wherein a substrate wiring for supplying a signal to the pixel circuit is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the region where the pixel circuit is formed. The semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is an organic thin film,
The thin film circuit includes a pixel circuit;
The pixel circuit is formed in the display unit,
15. The information display terminal according to claim 14 , wherein a substrate wiring for supplying a signal to the pixel circuit is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the region where the pixel circuit is formed. The information display terminal according to claim 18, wherein the first substrate is a plastic film. The information display terminal according to claim 18, wherein the first substrate is a metal plate.

Images