JP2004103465A - Switch with illumination - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switch with illumination of simple configuration not requiring a dedicated light guide member, nevertheless capable of equipping an illuminating function of a plurality of display colors with a uniform light quantity. <P>SOLUTION: At least a part of the surface of a switch knob 29 which turns on or off the switch bodies 26 and 27 through a depressing operation is provided with identification display parts 29a, 29b, 29c having semi-transmitting property, and light sources 30 and 31 in a plurality of pairs are provided on the rear surface of the switch knob 29, wherein the pairs of the light sources 30 and 31 are arranged opposingly and symmetrically to each other about the specified reference position so that the apparent display colors of the identification display parts 29a, 29b, 29c are desired colors different from one another and they are illuminated with a uniform light quantity in accordance with the lighting conditions of the pairs of the light sources 30 and 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a switch knob for turning on and off a switch body by a pressing operation, a semi-transparent identification display unit provided on at least a part of the surface of the switch knob, and a plurality of switches arranged on the back surface of the switch knob. The present invention relates to an illuminated switch that includes a pair of light sources and sets an apparent display color of an identification display unit to a desired different display color depending on a lighting state of a plurality of pairs of light sources.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for example, an operation panel of a vehicle air conditioner has a switch knob for turning on and off a switch body by a pressing operation, and a semi-transparent identification display unit provided on at least a part of a surface of the switch knob. A plurality of pairs of light sources arranged on the back surface of the switch knob, and an illuminated switch that makes the apparent display color of the identification display portion a desired display color depending on the lighting state of the plurality of pairs of light sources. It is well known.
[0003]
At this time, the apparent display color of the identification display unit is such that, for example, in a bright state in the daytime, it is easy to identify the position and type of the switch. Yes, it is difficult to identify the position and type of switch in dark conditions at night, so it is displayed to enable identification of the on / off state when the switch body is off and on. It makes the colors different.
[0004]
FIG. 4-6 shows an example of such an illuminated switch (for example, see Patent Document 1). FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part, and FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along line 5-5 in FIG. FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG.
[0005]
In FIG. 4-6, the switch device 1 has a switching function for switching an on / off state of an automatic temperature setting mode (hereinafter, referred to as an auto mode) of an in-vehicle air conditioner, and a volume adjusting air volume of the air conditioner. It has an air volume adjustment function and is mounted on the control panel 2.
[0006]
The switch device 1 includes a case 3, an operation knob 4 provided outside the case 3 and pressed by a user, a rotary switch 5 and a push button type switch 6 (switching) housed in the case 3. Function), a connecting portion 7 for operating the switches 5 and 6 in accordance with the operation of the operation knob 4, a lamp 8 for emitting white light for illuminating the operation knob 4, an LED 9 for emitting amber color, and a lamp. 8 and a lens 10 provided between the connecting portion 7.
[0007]
The operation knob 4 is made of a translucent material, and has a surface covered with a black resin except for a mark portion 4a and a pointer portion 4b, and is rotatable around the connection portion 7. By rotating the operation knob 4, the air volume of the air conditioner can be adjusted. By pressing the operation knob 4, the on / off state of the auto mode of the air conditioner can be switched. On the surface of the operation knob 4, a mark portion 4a and a pointer portion 4b are provided.
[0008]
The connecting portion 7 is formed of a light-guiding member except for a part, and includes a lens 12 for illuminating the mark portion 4a of the operation knob 4 and a rod-shaped lens for illuminating the pointer portion 4b of the operation knob 4. 13, a light-shielding plate 14 for shielding light between the lens 12 and the rod-shaped lens 13, and a light-transmitting material for transmitting the rotational force and pressing force of the operation knob 4 to the rotary switch 5 and the push-button switch 6. It comprises a slider 15, a metal fitting 16 fitted to the rotary knob 5a of the rotary switch 5, and a holder 17 for connecting the slider 15 and the metal fitting 16. The outer peripheral surface 12a of the lens 12 is formed as an inclined surface. The outer peripheral surface 12a collects light to illuminate the mark 4a of the operation knob 4. It is desirable that the lens 12 and the rod-shaped lens 13 are formed of a transparent resin (for example, acryl) having good transparency. The operation knob 4, slider 15 and lens 10 are desirably formed of a transparent resin (for example, polycarbonate) having excellent transparency, heat resistance, impact resistance, and the like.
[0009]
The rotary switch 5, the push button type switch 6, the lamp 8 and the LED 9 are mounted on a substrate 19. The rotary switch 5 has a function of adjusting the air volume for adjusting the air volume of the air conditioner. The rotary force of the operation knob 4 can be transmitted to the rotary knob 5a via the slider 15, the holder 17, and the metal fitting 16. ing. The push button type switch 6 has a function of switching an auto mode. When the slider 15 slides with respect to the holder 17 in response to the pressing operation of the operation knob 4, the pressing force from the operation knob 4 is increased. Can be transmitted. Note that the slider 15 and the holder 17 are slid at a key groove (not shown) of the holder 17.
[0010]
The mark portion 4a provided on the operation knob 4 is illuminated white from the inside by turning on a lamp 9 in conjunction with the ON operation of a light switch (not shown) during night driving. When the auto mode is turned on by pressing, the lamp 8 and the LED 9 are turned on to be colored and illuminated in amber. The pointer portion 4b is for indicating the air volume of the air conditioner, and, like the mark portion 4a, is illuminated white by turning on the lamp 9 in conjunction with the ON operation of the light switch during night driving. I have.
[0011]
The operation of the switch device 1 having the above configuration will be described.
[0012]
When the light switch is operated during night driving, the lamp 8 is turned on in conjunction with this operation. Part of the white light emitted from the lamp 8 is incident on the incident end face 10a of the lens 10, is guided inside the lens 10, and is reflected and emitted at a right angle at the emission end face 10b. The light emitted from the lens 10 is incident on the lens 12 and the rod-shaped lens 13 through the slider 15 of the connecting portion 7.
[0013]
The light incident on the lens 12 is totally reflected by the slope of the outer peripheral surface 12a, is converged on the center side, and illuminates the mark portion 4a. The light incident on the rod-shaped lens 13 is guided inside the rod-shaped lens 13 to illuminate the pointer 4b. Thereby, the mark part 4a and the pointer part 4b are illuminated in white, and have a nighttime illumination function. When the operation knob 4 is pressed to turn on the auto mode, the pressing force is transmitted to the push button switch 6 via the slider 15. In conjunction with the ON operation of the push button type switch 6, the LED 9 is turned on, amber light is incident on the lens 12 through the slider 15 of the connecting portion 7, and the mark portion 4a is illuminated in amber.
[0014]
In this way, the mark portion 4a can be colored and illuminated with a color different from that at the time of night illumination, so that the mark portion 4a has an indicator function in addition to the night illumination function. At this time, since the lens 12 and the rod-shaped lens 13 are shielded by the light shielding plate 16, the amber light emitted from the LED 9 does not enter the rod-shaped lens 13.
[0015]
As described above, the connecting portion 7 is constituted by the light-guiding members such as the lens 12, the rod-shaped lens 13, and the slider 15, and the lens 10 is disposed between the connecting portion 7 and the lamp 8, so that the light is projected from the lamp 8. Of the emitted light, a large amount of light can be used for illuminating the operation knob 4, and the illumination efficiency can be improved.
[0016]
Therefore, sufficient light is guided to the mark portion 4a and the pointer portion 4b of the operation knob 4 without increasing the number of the lamps 8 and the LEDs 9 or increasing the emission power of the lamps 8 and the LEDs 9, and the two regions 4a, 4b can be brightly illuminated. In addition, since the white light from the lamp 8 and the amber light from the LED 9 can enter the lens 12 illuminating the mark portion 4a, the mark portion 4a has a nighttime illumination function and an indicator. It has two functions.
[0017]
Further, by separating the functional components such as the connecting portion 7 from the operation knob 4, the moldability is improved, so that the appearance quality can be stabilized. Further, since the light guide path for each region of the operation knob 4 is blocked by the light shielding plate 14, even when a plurality of illumination units are present in the operation knob 4 like the mark unit 4a and the pointer unit 4b. Illumination of different colors and different brightness can be performed on each area.
[0018]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-185558 ([0014]-[0020], FIG. 1)
[0019]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the illuminated switch configured as described above, the lamps 8 and the LEDs 9 of different emission colors are arranged irregularly, and a plurality of lenses are used to regulate the light distribution of the illumination color with a uniform light amount. A light guide composed of 10, 12, and 13 is required, which causes problems such as an increase in component cost due to an increase in the number of components and an increase in the size of the entire switch.
[0020]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an illuminated switch that has a simple configuration and does not require a dedicated light guide member, but is capable of providing an illumination function of a plurality of display colors with a uniform light amount. The purpose is to do.
[0021]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the object, a switch with illumination according to the present invention includes a switch knob for turning on and off a switch body by a pressing operation, and a semi-transparent identification display unit provided on at least a part of a surface of the switch knob. And a plurality of pairs of light sources disposed on the back surface of the switch knob, wherein the apparent display color of the identification display unit is changed to a desired display color depending on the lighting state of the plurality of light sources. The plurality of pairs of light sources are arranged oppositely and symmetrically with respect to a reference position determined to illuminate the identification display unit with a uniform light amount.
[0022]
A semi-transparent identification display unit is provided on at least a part of the surface of the switch knob for turning on / off the switch body by pressing operation, and a plurality of pairs of light sources are arranged on the back surface of the switch knob, and the plurality of pairs of light sources are turned on A plurality of pairs of light sources are arranged opposite to each other and symmetrically with respect to a predetermined reference position such that the apparent display color of the identification display unit is illuminated with a desired different display color and a uniform light amount depending on the state. You.
[0023]
Further, the switch with illumination of the present invention is characterized in that, when three or more odd numbers of the identification display portions are provided in a separated state including the vicinity of the center of the surface, one of the identification display portions arranged near the center is provided. In consideration of the position and size of an even number of the identification display portions arranged at a display portion and another position, the vicinity of the center of one identification display portion arranged near the center is set as a reference position. And
[0024]
Furthermore, the switch with illumination of the present invention, when an even number of the identification display portions are provided in a separated state not including the vicinity of the center of the surface, a virtual link connecting the even number of the identification display portions. The vicinity of the center in the virtual shape including the identification display portions provided on a line or an even number thereof is set as the reference position.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of an illuminated switch of the present invention is applied to an illuminated switch installed on an operation panel of a vehicle air conditioner, and will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part along line 1-1 in FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line 2-2 in FIG. 3, and 3 is a main part of an operation panel of a vehicle air conditioner. It is a front view.
[0027]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes an operation panel (not shown) of a vehicle air conditioner, reference numeral 21 denotes a display unit, reference numerals 22 and 23 denote switches for selecting air outlets (not shown), and reference numeral 24 denotes an amount of air blown from the air outlets. Up / down switch for
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 1, the up-down switch 24 includes a pair of switch bodies 26 and 27 provided separately from each other on a circuit board 25, and a protrusion height raised from the circuit board 25 as shown in FIG. A switch knob 29 swinging in a seesaw manner with a shaft portion 28a provided on a pair of ribs 28 having different sizes as a fulcrum, and a plurality of pairs of LED light sources 30 and 31 provided on a circuit board 25 are provided.
[0029]
The switch knob 29 has a substantially rectangular shape (parallelogram) when viewed from the front, and is entirely formed of a non-transparent resin such as black. In the vicinity of the center of the surface of the switch knob 29, a fan mark 29a made of a semi-transparent resin such as white transparent and serving as an identification display unit indicating an air volume is provided. The upper and lower surfaces of the switch knob 29 are made of a semi-transparent resin such as white transparent so as to sandwich the fan mark 29a. A down mark 29c is provided as a display. Further, from the back surface of the switch knob 29, operation pieces 29d and 29e for selectively turning on / off one of the switch main bodies 26 and 27 by pressing operation are formed.
[0030]
As the pair of LED light sources 30, for example, a red LED or the like that is lit at night to enable the position and type of the switch knob 29 to be recognized and to recognize that the switch state is off (weak air flow) is used. ing.
[0031]
The pair of LED light sources 31 is, for example, a green LED or the like that allows the position and type of the switch knob 29 to be recognized at night and recognizes that the switch state is ON (the air conditioner is ON). I have.
[0032]
On the other hand, each of the pair of LED light sources 30, 31 has an apparent display color (actually referred to as an "identification display portion" in the following description) of the fan mark 29a, the up mark 29b, and the down mark 29c. The display colors are white and transparent) depending on the lighting state thereof, and these are opposite and symmetrical with respect to a reference position determined to illuminate the identification display unit with a uniform amount of light. It is arranged in a way.
[0033]
That is, in the case of this embodiment, since three or more odd-numbered identification display portions are provided in a separated state including the vicinity of the center of the surface of the switch knob 29, the fan marks 29a arranged near the center are provided. In consideration of the positions and sizes of the up mark 29b and the down mark 29c, which are an even number in total, arranged at other positions, they are arranged opposite and symmetrically with respect to the vicinity of the center of the fan mark 29a as a reference position. I have.
[0034]
In the present embodiment, the LED light sources 30 and 31 are strictly arranged at positions slightly compared to the above-described reference positions due to the presence of the switch bodies 26 and 27. In consideration of the light emission amount, there is no problem from the viewpoint of ensuring the uniform light amount of the entire identification display unit.
[0035]
When an even number of identification display sections are provided in a separated state not including the vicinity of the center of the surface of the switch knob 29, for example, the up mark 29b and the down mark 29c are provided without the fan mark 29a. In this case, on the virtual line connecting the up mark 29b and the down mark 29c, or within the virtual shape including the up mark 29b and the down mark 29c (in this example, the size substantially matches the outer shape of the switch knob 29). Are set opposite to each other and symmetrically with the vicinity of the center (or near the center of gravity) of different inscribed parallelograms as different reference positions.
[0036]
Accordingly, the identification display section can be displayed (illuminated) with a uniform light amount in any display color without providing the dedicated light guide member described in the related art.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
In the switch with illumination of the present invention, the illumination function of a plurality of display colors with a uniform light amount can be achieved with a simple configuration and without the need for a dedicated light guide member by being configured as described above. Can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of an illuminated switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line 2-2 of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a main part of an operation panel of the vehicle air conditioner.
FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part of a conventional switch with illumination.
FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4;
6 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
24 up / down switch (switch with illumination), 26 switch body, 27 switch body, 29 switch knob, 29a fan mark (identification display section), 29b up mark (identification display section), 29c down mark (identification display section), 30 LED light source (light source), 31 LED light source (light source).

Claims (3)

A switch knob for turning on / off the switch body by pressing operation, a semi-transparent identification display unit provided on at least a part of a surface of the switch knob, and a plurality of pairs of light sources arranged on the back surface of the switch knob In the illuminated switch, the apparent display color of the identification display unit is set to a desired different display color depending on the lighting state of the plurality of light sources,
The illuminated switch, wherein the plurality of pairs of light sources are arranged opposite to each other and symmetrically with respect to a reference position determined to illuminate the identification display unit with a uniform light amount. In the case where three or more odd numbers are provided in the separated state including the vicinity of the center of the surface, the one or more identification display parts arranged near the center are arranged at other positions. 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the reference position is set near the center of one of the identification display portions arranged near the center in consideration of the positions and sizes of the even number of the identification display portions. 3. switch. When an even number of the identification display portions are provided in a separated state not including the vicinity of the center of the surface, the identification display portion is provided on an imaginary line connecting the even number of the identification display portions or the even number of the identification display portions. The illuminated switch according to claim 1, wherein a reference position is set near a center in the virtual shape including the display units.

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