JP2004214101A - Operation button device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently illuminate an annular pedestal evenly in its brightness in an operation button device illuminating the annular pedestal in the circumference of an operation button. <P>SOLUTION: The operation button itself of this operation button device is composed of a light guiding resin material and used as a light guide member to the annular pedestal, so that the operation button comprises a button body composed of the light guiding resin material and a cap member covering the head part of the button body and composed of a light shielding material. The button body, the annular pedestal and a light emitting device are so disposed that, at least, a part of the light from the light emitting device is given to the annular pedestal via the button body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an operation button device, and more particularly to an operation button device that emits light from an annular pedestal around an operation button.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic device such as a camera, for example, an operation button device that illuminates an annular pedestal located around an operation button in order to display that power is on is known. Therefore, the annular pedestal is made of a light-guiding resin material, and guides light from the light emitting element (LED) directly or indirectly to the light-guiding annular pedestal.
[0003]
However, the conventional device has a problem in that the light from the light emitting element cannot be sufficiently guided to the annular pedestal, resulting in uneven brightness. This problem is particularly serious when the light emitting element cannot be placed at the center of the annular pedestal.
[0004]
[Patent Document]
JP-A-9-180572 JP-A-2002-231086
[Object of the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide an operation button device that can efficiently illuminate an annular pedestal around a push button. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation button device that can evenly illuminate the annular pedestal even when the light emitting element has to be arranged offset from the center of the annular pedestal.
[0006]
Summary of the Invention
The present invention has been made based on the insight that uniform illumination of the annular pedestal can be achieved if the operation button itself is also made of a light-guiding resin material and used as a light guide member for the annular pedestal.
[0007]
That is, the present invention has an annular pedestal made of a light-guiding resin material and fixed to the apparatus main body; an operation button provided in the annular pedestal so as to be able to be pressed; and a light emitting element for giving light to the annular pedestal. In the operation button device, the operation button is composed of a button body made of a light-guiding resin material, and a cap member made of a light-shielding material that covers the head of the button body. , Characterized in that at least a part of the light from the light emitting element is arranged to be provided to the annular pedestal via the button body.
[0008]
The button body is, for example, a button molded body made of a molded product of a light-guiding synthetic resin material, having the button body, a fixing portion fixed to the device main body, and an elastic deformation arm connecting the fixing portion and the button body. Can be provided. In this aspect, the fixing portion of the button molded body and the annular pedestal are fixed to the cover member of the device main body, and the light emitting element can be located inside the fixing portion. Further, when the fixed portion of the button molded body and the button body are adjacent to each other, and the elastically deformable arm protruding from the fixed portion is connected to the button body on the opposite side of the fixed portion, the effective length of the elastically deformable arm can be lengthened. .
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The illustrated embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a power switch of a camera. A circular opening 12 (see FIGS. 2, 4, and 5) is formed in the top cover member 11 of the camera 10, and a molded product of a light-guiding (light-transmitting) synthetic resin material is formed in the circular opening 12. Is fixedly inserted. The annular pedestal 20 has an outer flange 22 projecting outward and an inner flange 23 projecting inward at the upper end of the tubular body 21. The outer flange 22 is adhesively fixed to the circular opening 12.
[0010]
On the inner surface of the upper cover member 11, a fixing portion 31 of the button molded body 30 is adhesively fixed. The button molded body 30 is made of a molded product of a light-guiding (light-transmitting) synthetic resin material, like the annular pedestal 20, and includes a fixing portion 31, a button body 32, and the fixing portion 31 and the button body 32. And an elastic deformation arm 33 for connecting The planar shape of the button molded body 30 is shown by hatching in FIG.
[0011]
The button body 32 has a flat circular shape that can be pushed down into the cylindrical body 21 of the annular pedestal 20 and has a cap 34 made of a light-shielding material (a non-light-transmitting material, for example, metal) on its head. The operation button 35 is configured to be worn. The elastically deformable arm 33 has an L-shape that protrudes from one end of the fixed portion 31 and surrounds the annular pedestal 20, and has a connecting portion 36 with the button body 32 at a tip end thereof. That is, the fixed portion 31 of the button molded body 30 and the button body 32 are adjacent to each other, and the elastic deformation arm 33 protruding from the fixed portion 31 is connected to the button body 32 by the connecting portion 36 on the opposite side of the fixed portion 31. ing. The cylindrical body 21 of the annular pedestal 20 has a cutout 24 (FIG. 2) that allows the elastically deformable arm 33 to pass through.
[0012]
By arranging the elastically deformable arm 33 in this manner, the effective length of the elastically deformable arm 33 can be made sufficiently long, and the button body 32 can be moved within the annular pedestal 20 in the direction substantially in the axial direction. The elastic deformation arm 33 is formed so as to apply a biasing force to the button main body 32 in a direction protruding from the annular pedestal 20, and the button main body 32 comes into contact with the inner flange 23 of the annular pedestal 20 and has a protruding end thereof. Is formed.
[0013]
In the camera 10, a switch element (tact switch) 13 is fixed below (inside) the operation button 35, and an LED (below) is fixed below (inside) the fixing portion 31 of the button molded body 30. A light emitting element 14 is fixed. That is, the LED 14 is located at a position offset from the center of the operation button 35. On the lower surface of the fixed portion 31, a pressing projection 37 (FIGS. 3 and 5) for pressing the switch element 13 is formed. The switch element 13 is a power switch of the camera in this embodiment, and when turned on, the LED 14 emits light. The switch element 13, the LED 14, the CPU 16 and the like are connected by the FPC board 15.
[0014]
In the operation button device having the above configuration, when the operation button 35 (button main body 32) is pressed down and the switch element 13 is pressed once by the pressing projection 37, the power of the camera 10 is turned on and the LED 14 is turned on. When the user presses the button 13 again, the power is turned off and the LED 14 is turned off. In the lighting state of the LED 14, a part of the light from the LED 14 reaches the annular pedestal 20 through the button main body 32 (and the fixing portion 31) as shown by arrows in FIGS. 4 and 5. For this reason, the annular pedestal 20 can be made to shine much more uniformly than the conventional product in which the button body 32 is made of a non-light-guiding resin material. Since the upper surface of the button body 32 is covered with the cap 34, the operation button 35 does not light up in appearance.
[0015]
The above embodiment is an example in which the button body 32, the annular pedestal 20, and the LED 14 are arranged such that at least a part of the light from the LED 14 is provided to the annular pedestal 20 via the button body 32. It is clear that there is freedom. Further, the annular pedestal 20 in the illustrated example is a perfect circle, but may be a non-circular ring such as an ellipse.
[0016]
The above is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the power switch of the camera 10 so that the annular pedestal 20 is illuminated when the power switch is turned on. The present invention is generally applicable to an operation switch device that emits light.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in an operation button device which makes the annular pedestal around the operation button emit light, the annular pedestal can be efficiently illuminated without uneven brightness.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an operation button device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 camera 11 top cover member 12 circular opening 13 switch element 14 LED (light emitting element)
Reference Signs List 20 annular pedestal 21 cylindrical body 22 outer flange 23 inner flange 24 notch 30 button molded body 31 fixing part 32 button body 32a flange 33 elastic deformation arm 34 cap 35 operation button 36 connection part 37 pressing projection

Claims (4)

An annular pedestal made of a light-guiding resin material and fixed to the device body;
An operation button provided in the annular pedestal so as to be able to be pressed; and a light emitting element for giving light to the annular pedestal;
An operation button device having
The operation button comprises a button body made of a light-guiding resin material, and a cap member made of a light-shielding material that covers the head of the button body,
An operation button device, wherein the button body, the annular pedestal, and the light emitting element are arranged such that at least a part of light from the light emitting element is provided to the annular pedestal via the button body. 2. The molded product of a light-guiding synthetic resin material according to claim 1, comprising: the button body, a fixing portion fixed to the device main body, and an elastic deformation arm connecting the fixing portion and the button body. An operation button device provided with a button molded body comprising: 3. The operation button device according to claim 2, wherein the annular pedestal and the fixing portion of the button molded body are fixed to a cover member of the device main body, and the light emitting element is located inside the fixing portion. . The operation button device according to claim 3, wherein the fixed portion of the button molded body and the button body are adjacent to each other, and the elastically deformable arm protruding from the fixed portion is connected to the button body on the opposite side of the fixed portion. Button device.

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