1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to display panels such as liquid crystal displays or electroluminescent displays, and more specifically to a rigid display panel structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional display panel structures a liquid crystal display panel or an organic electroluminescent (EL) display panel is held between a transparent member and a sealing member The edge portions of the sealing member are cemented to the edge portions of the transparent member by adhesive so that the display panel is air-tightly sealed from the outside. For liquid crystal displays, the sealing member is formed of glass. The EL display panel is a layered structure of an organic luminescent layer, a hole injection layer and an electron injection layer, and the sealing member for this application is glass or metal This EL display panel is cemented to the sealing member by adhesive.
With the recent advances in notebook computers, there is a general tendency towards using a thinned sealing member for the display panel structure for reducing the weight of the portable computers. However, the use of thin sealing member reduces the mechanical strength of the display panel structure Japanese Patent Publication Hei 9-305125 discloses a display panel structure. In the disclosed patent publication, a metal frame structure is provided between the transparent member and the sealing member to ensure the mechanical rigidity of the display panel structure. However, the prior art adds an extra complexity to the display panel structure.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a display panel structure having a reinforced sealing member for increasing the mechanical strength of the display panel structure.
According to the present invention, there is provided a display panel structure comprising a display panel having a matrix array of display elements, the display panel having a first, major surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a transparent member on the first surface of the display panel, and a sealing member on the second surface of the display panel, the sealing member having edge portions establishing sealing contact with edge portions of the transparent member so that the display panel is air-tightly sealed from the outside of the structure, the sealing member having a lattice of ribs outwardly raised from the outer surface of the sealing member for strengthening the sealing member,