CN211830844U

CN211830844U - Electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN211830844U
Application number: CN202020759117.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 关天升
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-09
Filing date: 2020-05-09
Publication date: 2020-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-09

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, including: the device comprises a frame, a display screen, a sensor and a bent light guide column; the frame is provided with a through hole; the display screen is positioned in the frame; the light guide pole comprises: a first end face and a second end face; the first end face is exposed through the through hole; the second end face is positioned below the display screen; the second end face is the reverse end face of the first end face on the light guide column; the sensor is positioned below the display screen in the frame and is arranged opposite to the second end face. Through the embodiment of the disclosure, the display screen can reach a higher screen occupation ratio.

Description

Electronic device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of terminal technologies, and in particular, to an electronic device.

Background

The continuous development of electronic equipment brings more and more convenience to the daily life of people, and the requirements of users on the performance, the attractiveness and the like of the electronic equipment are gradually improved, so that all major manufacturers need to improve the attractiveness of the electronic equipment while ensuring the performance as much as possible.

In the related art, a proximity light ambient light sensor is disposed on a top of the electronic device to detect an ambient light intensity and a separation distance between the electronic device and an obstacle, respectively. However, in order to increase the screen space of the electronic device for aesthetic purposes, the space occupied by the light sensor in the near-light environment is gradually compressed, but the screen space requirement still fails to meet the expectation.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides an electronic device.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic apparatus, including: the device comprises a frame, a display screen, a sensor and a bent light guide column;

the frame is provided with a through hole;

the display screen is positioned in the frame;

the light guide pole comprises: a first end face and a second end face; the first end face is exposed through the through hole; the second end face is positioned below the display screen; the second end face is the reverse end face of the first end face on the light guide column;

the sensor is positioned below the display screen in the frame and is arranged opposite to the second end face.

Optionally, the peripheral surface of the light guide pillar is provided with a sealing layer.

Optionally, the electronic device further includes:

the cover plate is positioned above the display screen and is arranged in the frame; and one side edge of the cover plate is adjacent to the through hole.

Optionally, the electronic device further includes:

and the circuit board is positioned below the sensor and is electrically connected with the sensor.

Optionally, the sensor includes a light detection unit, and the second end surface of the light guide pillar covers a detection area corresponding to the light detection unit; the light ray detection unit is used for detecting ambient light incident through the light guide column.

Optionally, the sensor includes: a distance sensor;

the light guide post includes:

the light inlet column is used for guiding ambient light into the light detection unit of the distance sensor through the through hole;

and the light emitting column is arranged in parallel with the light incident column and is used for transmitting the light emitted during the distance detection to the outside through the through hole.

Optionally, the distance sensor includes an infrared light emitting unit, and the distance sensor includes an infrared light detecting unit.

Optionally, the light incident to the light guide column through the through hole is totally reflected to the sensor in the light guide column.

Optionally, the circumferential side surface of the light guide column is wrapped with a light shielding layer.

Optionally, the light guide column is made of plastic or acrylic.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can have the following beneficial effects:

in the embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic device comprises a frame, a display screen, a sensor and a curved light guide column; the frame is provided with a through hole, so that the first end face of the bent light guide column is exposed through the through hole, the second end face of the light guide column opposite to the first end face is located below the display screen in the frame, the light guide effect of the bent light guide column is achieved, the light guide column is located below the display screen, and the light guide column and the sensor arranged opposite to the second end face of the light guide column detect or emit light. Through this kind of design, be straight and the mode that sets up side by side with the display screen for the leaded light post in the electronic equipment, need not set up the special space that holds whole leaded light post beside the display screen, and set up the through-hole through the frame in order to hold crooked leaded light post, can reduce the size restriction of leaded light post to the display screen to make the size of display screen can increase, the screen that has promoted the display screen accounts for the ratio.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram of an electronic device.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a partial internal structure of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic device shown in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the invention, as detailed in the appended claims.

At present, a sensor is usually arranged in electronic equipment and can detect the intensity of ambient light, so that the electronic equipment can adjust the current screen brightness based on the detected ambient light brightness to adapt to external light and improve the visual perception of a user; alternatively, the electronic device may be enabled to determine a distance between the electronic device and the obstacle based on the light detected by the sensor. When the sensor realizes light detection, a light guide column is generally needed to guide light. However, the design of the light guide posts may affect the size of the display screen, thereby affecting the user experience.

To this end, the present disclosure provides an electronic device, fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 1, an electronic device 100 includes: a frame 101, a display screen 102, a sensor 103 and a curved light guide 104;

the frame 101 is provided with a through hole;

the display screen 102 is positioned in the frame 101;

the light guide 104 includes: a first end face and a second end face; the first end face is exposed through the through hole; the second end surface is positioned below the display screen 102; the second end face is the reverse end face of the first end face on the light guide column;

the sensor 103 is located below the display screen 102 in the frame, and is arranged opposite to the second end face.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes: cell-phone, panel computer and intelligent wearing equipment etc.. Fig. 2 is an exemplary view of an electronic apparatus, and as shown in fig. 2, a-a direction indicates a thickness direction of the electronic apparatus. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the direction a-a.

The frame 101 of the electronic device belongs to a part of the housing, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the frame 101 has a through hole, and the first end surface S1 (light incident surface) of the light guiding column 104 bent in the electronic device is disposed at the through hole and exposed through the through hole; and the second end surface S2 opposite to the first end surface S1 is located below the display screen 102, i.e. the first end surface of the light guide pillar 104 with the curved structure is above the display screen 104, and the second end surface is below the display screen 102.

The sensor 103 located below the display screen 102 is disposed opposite to the second end surface, and thus can receive the light guided through the light guide bar 104. In addition, the sensor 103 can also emit light, and the emitted light can be conducted out of the electronic device through the light guide pillar 104.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the Sensor 103 includes an ambient light Sensor, a distance Sensor, or a proximity light ambient light Sensor (PL Sensor) having both ambient light detection and distance detection, and the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the curvature of the curved light guide column 104 may be determined by optical experimental simulation based on the characteristics of each electronic device, such as the overall size of the electronic device, the size of the light guide column 104, and the like, i.e., from the perspective of the light path design. Based on the optical simulation, the curvature of the light pipe 104 may be determined to achieve total reflection; the curvature of the light guide 104 may also be set to achieve a predetermined range of refractive indices to meet a predetermined requirement of light transmittance.

Generally, a light guide column in an electronic device is straight and is arranged in parallel with a display screen, and the size of the display screen is limited due to the influence of the light guide column. In the embodiment of the disclosure, the size of the display screen can be increased by the design mode of the bent light guide columns, so that the screen occupation ratio of the display screen can be improved.

In one embodiment, the display screen 102 is adjacent to the point of maximum curvature on the circumference of the light pipe 104.

In this embodiment, because the light guide 104 is curved, the display screen 102 can also be positioned adjacent to the point of maximum curvature on the perimeter surface, i.e., to maximize the length of the display screen 102, when the position between the display screen 102 and the light guide 104 is set.

In one embodiment, the light guide bar 104 is made of plastic or acrylic.

In this embodiment, the light guide pillar 104 is made of plastic, so that the light guide pillar 104 can be bent well, thereby obtaining light guide pillars with different curvatures, and meeting different light guide requirements. The light guide column 104 is made of acrylic, so that the light guide column 104 has better light guiding performance.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when designing the light guide pillar 104, the light guide pillar 104 may be set to have a specific color based on the influence of the color on the refractive index, so as to satisfy the requirement of the light transmittance of the light guide pillar 104 under the predetermined curvature. For example, the light guide 104 is designed to be brown or transparent.

In one embodiment, the periphery of the light guide 104 has a sealing layer.

In this embodiment, a sealing layer is provided on the periphery of the light guide 104 to perform a sealing function. The sealing layer is, for example, a rubber sleeve, and the rubber sleeve surrounds the peripheral surface of the light guide 104, for example, the peripheral surface of the light guide 104 in contact with the sensor 103, and thus functions as a seal, a waterproof seal, and the like.

Further, a gap may be provided between the light guide pillar 104 and the sensor 103, and the gap is filled with a sealing layer, so that the phenomenon that light introduced or extracted from the light guide pillar 104 leaks through the gap can be reduced.

In one embodiment, the electronic device further comprises:

a cover plate 105, located above the display screen 102, installed in the frame 101; and one side edge of the cover plate 105 is adjacent to the through hole.

In this embodiment, there is also a cover plate 105 over the display screen 102, with one side edge of the cover plate 105 adjacent to the through hole. The display screen 102 is protected by a cover plate 105.

In one embodiment, the electronic device further comprises:

and the circuit board 106 is positioned below the sensor 103 and is electrically connected with the sensor 103.

In this embodiment, the electronic device further has a Circuit Board 106, such as a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or a Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPC), located below the sensor 103 and electrically connected to the sensor 103.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device, as shown in fig. 3, the electronic device includes: a cover plate, a display screen, a light guide column, a PL (light proximity ambient light sensor), a PCB and a frame. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the light guide is straight and is juxtaposed to the display screen. The distance from the display screen to the frame is X.

Correspondingly, fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device, which is different from fig. 3 in that, in fig. 4, the light guide pillar is curved, one end of the light guide pillar is adjacent to the cover plate, and the other end is below the display screen. The curved light guide column enables the distance between the display screen and the frame to be X + Y.

Comparing fig. 3 and fig. 4, it can be seen that the size of the display screen is increased by the Y length by the design of the curved light guide posts, and thus the screen occupation ratio of the display screen can be improved.

In one embodiment, the light guide pillar 104 is circumferentially covered with a light shielding layer.

In this embodiment, the light guide pillar 104 is circumferentially covered with a light shielding layer, which may be an ink layer or any paint layer or outer coating layer capable of blocking light.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, since the first end surface of the light guide pillar 104 is located above the display screen 102 and the second end surface is located below the display screen 102, the light guided in or out by the light guide pillar 104 may be affected by the light emitted from the display screen 102.

To this, this disclosure covers the light shield layer in the circumference of leaded light post 104, perhaps sets up the light shield layer on being close to display screen 102's global, can effectively reduce the influence of sending light from display screen 102 to promote sensor 103's light detection precision.

In one embodiment, the light incident on the light guide pillar 104 through the through hole is totally reflected to the sensor 103 through the light guide pillar 104.

In this embodiment, the light incident to the light guide column 104 through the through hole is totally reflected to the sensor 103 through the light guide column 104, that is, when the light guide column 104 is designed, the light guide column 104 can realize total reflection through an optical principle, so that the loss of light signals is reduced as much as possible, and the accuracy of the sensor 103 in detecting light can be improved.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device, as shown in fig. 5, and corresponding to fig. 3, in the related art, limit materials such as ink are further disposed around the light guide pillar that is disposed side by side with the display screen. For example, the

portions

220, 201, 204 and 280 shown in fig. 5 are all inks, which function to:

1. the light transmittance is controlled to satisfy the light transmittance with a preset degree, so that the sensor can better detect light.

2. The light transmittance for different light sources can be set through the ink layer, so that the electronic equipment keeps the same color when the screen is turned off. For example, the infrared light transmissivity on printing ink layer sets up relatively higher, and visible light transmissivity is low, can reduce the influence to the energy of the infrared ray of passing the printing ink layer like this, simultaneously because the infrared light is invisible to the human eye, consequently the user hardly sees the structure of printing ink layer below leaded light post through the printing ink layer, the outward appearance of assurance terminal equipment that like this still can be better.

However, in the method of realizing optical path control by using a limited material such as ink, there are three problems: firstly, the printing ink has high cost; secondly, the coating of the limit materials such as printing ink has higher requirements on the production process, the phenomenon of uneven coating is easy to occur, and the light guide rate cannot reach the expectation due to uneven coating, so that the production yield is influenced; thirdly, the coated ink and other limit materials may fall off to influence the light guiding of the light guide column, thereby influencing the light detection precision of the sensor.

And this is disclosed, through designing into curved leaded light 104, adjusts the crooked camber of leaded light post 104, can make the light that incides to leaded light post 104 through the through-hole from the angle of light path design via leaded light post 104 total reflection to sensor 103, can need not like the assistance of extreme material such as printing ink layer, therefore can reduce the light signal loss, when promoting sensor 103 and detecting the precision to the light, can also reduce manufacturing cost, promotion production yield. In addition, based on optical simulation, through the design of light guide column curvature, the influence of light guide column color to appearance uniformity can also be reduced.

In one embodiment, the sensor 103 includes a light detecting unit, and the second end surface of the light guiding pillar 104 covers a detecting area corresponding to the light detecting unit; the light detection unit is configured to detect ambient light incident through the light guide pillar 104.

In this embodiment, the second end surface of the light guide bar 104 covers the detection area corresponding to the light detection unit of the sensor 103, so that the sensor can more accurately receive the ambient light through the light guide bar 104 to realize light detection.

As described above, the sensor 103 may be an ambient light sensor or a proximity light ambient light sensor having an ambient light detection function, and thus, the sensor 103 may detect ambient light incident through the light guide bar 104, so that the electronic device may automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the ambient light detected by the sensor 103.

In one embodiment, the sensor 103 comprises: a distance sensor;

the light guide 104 includes:

a light-emitting pillar 104a for transmitting light emitted by the light-emitting unit to the outside when the distance sensor performs distance detection through the through hole;

and the light inlet column 104b is arranged in parallel with the light outlet column and is used for guiding the light reflected after being shielded into the light detection unit of the distance sensor through the through hole.

As described above, the sensor 103 may be a distance sensor or a proximity light environment light sensor having a distance detection function, and when the sensor has the distance detection function, the light guide pillar 104 may include the light exit pillar 104a and the light entrance pillar 104b arranged in parallel with the light exit pillar 104 a. It should be noted that, the light exit pillar 104a and the light entrance pillar 104b are both curved, but the curvatures may be the same or different.

The light-emitting column 104a is used for transmitting the light emitted by the light-emitting unit to the outside when the distance sensor performs distance detection through the through hole; and a light incidence column 104b for guiding the reflected light after the emitted light is blocked into the light detection unit of the distance sensor through the through hole. The distance sensor can determine the distance of the detected object relative to the electronic equipment based on the time of the light emitted by the light emitting unit and the time of the reflected light received by the light detecting unit.

In this embodiment, the light-emitting pillar 104a corresponds to the corresponding area of the light-emitting unit, and the light-entering pillar 104b corresponds to the corresponding detection area of the light-detecting unit, and the light-emitting pillar 104a and the light-entering pillar 104b are separately disposed, so that the sensor with the distance sensing function can emit and receive light more accurately, and thus the accuracy of distance detection can be improved.

In one embodiment, the distance sensor includes an infrared light emitting unit, and the distance sensor includes an infrared light detecting unit.

In this embodiment, the light emitting unit of the distance sensor may emit infrared light, and the light detecting unit may detect infrared light, and the distance sensor may determine the distance between the detected object and the electronic device according to the time difference between the emission and the reception of the infrared light.

Fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of a partial internal structure of an electronic device in an embodiment of the disclosure, and as shown in fig. 5, S11a to S11e are shells, where S11b is a frame of the shell. This frame has the through-hole, and crooked leaded light post S12 shows through the through-hole. In fig. 5, S13 denotes a sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, S14 denotes a circuit board according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, S15a and S15b denote brackets under the circuit board, S16 denotes a display screen, S18 denotes a cover plate, and S17 denotes an optical adhesive connecting the display screen and the cover plate.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the light guide column with the bending structure is designed, so that the size of the display screen can be increased, and the screen occupation ratio of the display screen can be improved.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device apparatus 800 in accordance with an example embodiment. For example, the device 800 may be a mobile phone, a mobile computer, etc.

Referring to fig. 7, the apparatus 800 may include one or more of the following components: processing component 802, memory 804, power component 806, multimedia component 808, audio component 810, input/output (I/O) interface 812, sensor component 814, and communication component 816.

The processing component 802 generally controls overall operation of the device 800, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing components 802 may include one or more processors 820 to execute instructions to perform all or a portion of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 802 can include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 802 and other components. For example, the processing component 802 can include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 808 and the processing component 802.

The memory 804 is configured to store various types of data to support operation at the device 800. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on device 800, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and so forth. The memory 804 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or non-volatile memory devices such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks.

Power components 806 provide power to the various components of device 800. The power components 806 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the device 800.

The multimedia component 808 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 800 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive an input signal from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touch, slide, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not only sense the boundary of a touch or slide action, but also detect the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 808 includes a front facing camera and/or a rear facing camera. The front-facing camera and/or the rear-facing camera may receive external multimedia data when the device 800 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

The audio component 810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 810 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the apparatus 800 is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may further be stored in the memory 804 or transmitted via the communication component 816. In some embodiments, audio component 810 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface 812 provides an interface between the processing component 802 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

The sensor assembly 814 includes one or more sensors for providing various aspects of state assessment for the device 800. For example, the sensor assembly 814 may detect the open/closed state of the device 800, the relative positioning of the components, such as a display and keypad of the apparatus 800, the sensor assembly 814 may also detect a change in position of the apparatus 800 or a component of the apparatus 800, the presence or absence of user contact with the apparatus 800, orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus 800, and a change in temperature of the apparatus 800. Sensor assembly 814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of a nearby object without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 814 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 814 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 816 is configured to facilitate communications between the apparatus 800 and other devices in a wired or wireless manner. The device 800 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as Wi-Fi, 2G, or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 800 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors or other electronic components for performing the above-described methods.

In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, such as the memory 804 comprising instructions, executable by the processor 820 of the device 800 to perform the above-described method is also provided. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be a ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electronic device, characterized in that the electronic device comprises: the device comprises a frame, a display screen, a sensor and a bent light guide column;

the frame is provided with a through hole;

the display screen is positioned in the frame;

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a peripheral surface of the light guide pillar has a sealing layer.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

4. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a light detecting unit, and the second end surface of the light guiding pillar covers a detecting area corresponding to the light detecting unit; the light ray detection unit is used for detecting ambient light incident through the light guide column.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the sensor comprises: a distance sensor;

the light guide post includes:

the light emitting column is used for transmitting the light emitted by the light emitting unit to the outside when the distance sensor performs distance detection through the through hole;

and the light inlet column is arranged in parallel with the light outlet column and used for leading the light reflected after being shielded to the light detection unit of the distance sensor through the through hole.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the distance sensor includes an infrared light emitting unit, and wherein the distance sensor includes an infrared light detecting unit.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein light incident on the light guide pillar through the through hole is totally reflected to the sensor via the light guide pillar.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the light guide pillar is circumferentially covered with a light shielding layer.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the light guide pillar is made of plastic or acrylic.