JP4532296B2 - Power window switch device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle power window switch device having an operation element for opening and closing a window of a vehicle by power of a drive source and having a space for a fingertip to operate the operation element.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vehicles, particularly automobiles, generally have an operation element for opening and closing a window with the power of a drive source and a space for a fingertip for operating the operation element.
FIG. 9 shows the conventional structure itself, and a support portion 2 is formed in a protruding manner on the base 1, and an operating element 3 is supported on the support portion 2 by a shaft portion 4 so as to be vertically rotatable. In addition, a light guide 5 made of, for example, a transparent resin is inserted into the support portion 2.

  An insulator 6 is disposed below the base 1, and a lamp 7, which is a light source, is mounted on the insulator 6 so as to be positioned immediately below the light guide 5. In addition, although not shown, the insulator 6 is provided with a fixed contact, and the movable contact attached to the contact holder that responds to the turning operation of the operation element 3 comes in contact with and is separated from the fixed contact. It controls the motor that is the driving source that generates power to open and close the window.

  Further, a panel 8 is provided above the base 1, and a hole 9 for exposing the surface portion of the operation element 3 is formed in the panel 8, and in front thereof (on the left side in the drawing). A concave portion 10 is formed at a position, and the inside of the concave portion 10 is a space 11 in which a fingertip of a user who operates the operation element 3 enters.

  Thus, the operator 3 is provided with a finger-hanging portion 3a projecting from the front upper edge on the space 11 side, and the user pulls up the operator 3 with the fingertip suspended here. . Accordingly, the space 11 is a work space where the user performs an operation of pulling up the operation element 3 with a fingertip. Further, the operation element 3 is provided with a light indicator 12 made of a translucent resin at the top, and the lamp 7 illuminates from the inside of the operation element 3 through the light guide 5 as indicated by an arrow A. The user is informed of the position of the operation element 3.

  In the case of the above-described conventional one, when the operation element 3 is operated, especially when the operation element is pulled up, the light indicator 12 informs the user of the position of the operation element 3, but the operation element 3 on which the user puts the fingertip is applied. It was necessary to find the finger hanging portion 3a by hand, and the operability was not good.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle power window switch device that can improve the operability of operating an operator.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle power window switch device according to the present invention has an operation element for opening and closing a vehicle window by power of a drive source, and has a space for a fingertip to operate the operation element. The operation element has a finger suspension part for a user to operate the operation element by hanging the fingertip, and is directly below the finger suspension part of the operation element in a space where the fingertip enters. A light- transmitting part is provided at the facing portion, and light is projected through the light- transmitting part from the inside of the operation element to a space where the fingertip enters , and the operation element has a light indicator in addition to the light-transmitting part. The light source that projects light into the space where the fingertip enters is shared with the light source that illuminates the light indicator .

According to the above means, light is projected from the inside of the operation element to the space where the fingertip enters through the light transmitting portion provided in the portion that faces the space where the user's fingertip enters immediately below the finger suspension part of the operation element. Thus, the user can recognize the operator's finger rest part at a glance and does not have to search for it by hand, so that the operability can be improved. In addition, the texture of the switch device can be improved by illuminating the space where the fingertip enters.
In addition, the operation element has a light indicator in addition to the light transmitting part, and the light source that projects light to the space where the fingertip enters is shared with the light source that illuminates the light indicator, thereby reducing the number of light sources used. It can be reduced to a small extent, and an increase in cost can be suppressed.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.
First, in FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only different parts will be described below. That is, the operation element 3 is provided with a light transmitting portion 21 at a central portion just under the finger-hanging portion 3 a and in front of the space 11. The translucent portion 21 may be a transparent material. In this case, the translucent portion 21 is formed of a light diffusing material and a translucent material (for example, polished glass-like resin), and is a concave lens with a concave front surface. Yes.

  In accordance with this, a light guide 22 is inserted in the support portion 2 of the base 1 in place of the light guide 5 described above. The light guide 22 is made of, for example, the same transparent resin as the light guide 5 described above. However, the light guide 5 has a straight rod shape, whereas the tip is the light transmitting portion 21. And has an inclined surface 22a at the upper corner.

  As a result, a part of the light emitted from the lamp 7 is emitted from the slope 22a as indicated by an arrow B to reach the light indicator 12 from the inside of the operation element 3 to illuminate it and be refracted by the slope 22a. By projecting from the tip as indicated by the arrow C, the light is projected from the inside of the operation element 3 to the space 11 through the translucent portion 21. Therefore, in this case, the light source that projects light onto the space 11 and the light source that illuminates the light indicator 12 are shared by the lamp 7. The lamp 7 is turned on when the main power of the vehicle is turned on.

And as shown also in FIG. 2, the light reflection part 23 is provided in the front surface in the recessed part 10 of the panel 8 which is the projection destination of the light projected on the space 11. FIG. In this case, the light reflecting portion 23 is composed of a light reflecting plate such as a mirror separate from the panel 8, and is provided by being attached or insert-molded on the front surface in the recess 10 of the panel 8.
As shown in FIG. 2, there are a plurality of operation elements 3, and each of them has the above-described configuration of the lamp 7, the light guide 22, the light transmitting part 21, and the light reflecting part 23. . The space 11 exists in common for the plurality of operators 3.

  As described above, in this configuration, the light emitted from the lamp 7 is projected from the light guide 22 through the light transmitting portion 21 onto the space 11 in which the fingertip of the user who operates the operation element 3 enters. The space 11 is illuminated. Thereby, the user can recognize the finger hanging part 3a of the operation element 3 at a glance, and does not have to find it by groping like a conventional one, so that the operability can be improved. In addition, the texture of the switch device can be improved by illuminating the space 11 into which the fingertip enters.

Particularly in the case of this configuration, since the translucent portion 21 uses a translucent material containing a light diffusing material, the light is diffused and projected onto the space 11 to illuminate the space 11 widely and softly. Therefore, the impression of the user can be improved and the texture can be further improved. In addition, since the translucent portion 21 is a concave lens, the diffusion of light can be made wider.
In addition, particularly in the case of this configuration, light is projected into the space 11 from the inside of the operation element 3, thereby comparing with the concept of projecting light from the side surface of the panel 8 or the like. Thus, it is difficult to understand the light source, and the texture can be improved.

Further, in the case of this configuration, the operation element 3 has the light indicator 12, and the light source that projects light to the space 11 is shared with the light source that illuminates the light indicator 12 with the lamp 7, thereby The amount of light sources used can be kept small, and an increase in cost can be suppressed.
And the light reflection part 23 is provided in the projection destination of the light projected on the space 11, and by the reflection of the light by that, a user's recognition can be made more reliable and operativity can be improved further, The texture can be further improved.

3 to 8 show second to sixth examples (second to sixth embodiments) of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the first example are the same as those of the first example. A description will be omitted with reference numerals, and only different parts will be described.
[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a convex lens-shaped light transmitting portion 31 is used in place of the concave lens-shaped light transmitting portion 21 described above. Thereby, the light can be focused and projected on the space 11.

[Third embodiment]
In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a translucent part 41 whose front surface is cut into a polyhedral shape (for example, diamond cut) is used instead of the above-described concave lens-like translucent part 21. Thereby, light can be diffused and projected into the space 11 in multiple directions.
[Fourth embodiment]
In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 5, instead of the above-described concave lens-shaped light-transmitting portion 21, a light-transmitting portion 51 whose front and rear surfaces are flat-faced is used. Thereby, light can be projected straight into the space 11.

[Fifth embodiment]
In the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a sheet 61 on which a mark such as a vehicle mark is written is attached to the front surface of the light transmission part 31 of the convex lens shape of the second embodiment, and the panel 8 A screen 62 is provided on the front surface of the concave portion 10 in place of the light reflecting portion 23 described above, and an image E of the mark written on the sheet 61 by the light projected on the space 11 is projected on the screen 62. Yes. Thereby, a texture can be improved.

[Sixth embodiment]
In the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 8, there are a total of four vehicle windows on the front left and right and rear left and right. A switching operation member 71 is provided, and the switching operation member 71 switches between the windows before and after the two operation elements 3 can be opened and closed.

Specifically, when the switching operation member 71 is operated forward, the left and right windows on the front side can be opened / closed by the two operating elements 3 respectively, and when operated backward, the left and right windows on the rear side are operated by two operations. Each child 3 can be opened and closed. It should be noted that the operated switching operation member 71 may remain at that position and then be returned by the user, or may automatically return to the position before the operation.
In such a case, the switching state (whether the front and rear windows can be opened and closed) by the operation of the switching operation member 71 is displayed by changing the color of light projected on the space 11 to, for example, red and green.

  Further, as a different one, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-169529, the opening / closing operation of all the windows of the vehicle is performed by selecting with one master switch. The color of the light to be projected may be displayed differently, and initialization is performed when a predetermined time has elapsed after the selection (for example, a window other than the driver's seat can be opened and closed) In such a case, the initialization may be displayed in the color of light projected on the space 11.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, such as displaying the opening / closing state of the window with the color of light projected on the space 11, and does not depart from the gist. It can be carried out with appropriate modifications within the range.

1 is a longitudinal side view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Perspective view of main parts FIG. 1 partial equivalent diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention FIG. 1 partial equivalent diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention FIG. 1 partial equivalent diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention FIG. 1 partial equivalent diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention 2 equivalent diagram The top view which shows 6th Example of this invention 1 equivalent diagram showing a conventional example

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawing, 3 is an operator, 7 is a lamp (light source), 11 is a space, 12 is a light indicator, 23 is a light reflecting portion, 62 is a screen, and E is an image.

Claims (3)

In what has a manipulator for opening and closing the window of the vehicle by the power of the drive source and having a space for a fingertip to manipulate the manipulator,
The operation element has a finger suspension part for a user to operate the operation element by hanging the fingertip,
A light-transmitting part is provided immediately below the finger-hanging part of the operator and facing the space where the fingertip enters,
While projecting light to the space where the fingertip enters from the inside of the operating element through the light transmitting portion ,
The operating element has a light indicator in addition to the translucent part, and a light source for projecting light to a space where the fingertip enters is shared with a light source for illuminating the light indicator. Switch device. The vehicle power window switch device according to claim 1 , further comprising a light reflecting portion at a projection destination of light projected in a space where a fingertip enters. 2. The vehicle power according to claim 1 , wherein a screen is provided at a projection destination of light projected on a space where a fingertip enters, and an image of light projected on the space where the fingertip enters is projected on the screen. Wind switch device.

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