JP2006059885A - Volume switch device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a volume switch device whose cost is improved. <P>SOLUTION: A blue LED 8 and a red LED 10 are mounted to both ends of an optical transmission member 6 arranged to follow an operation volume switch 4. The optical transmission member 6 emits red light and blue light in accordance with light intensity of the LEDs 8 and 10. When the operation volume switch 4 is turned counterclockwise, for example, voltage supplied to the blue LED 8 is lowered, and voltage supplied to the red LED 10 is raised in accordance with a manipulated variable. Thus, a rate of the red light emitting part 6b, which occupies the optical transmission member 6, increases since luminance of the blue LED 8 drops and luminance of the red LED 10 is raised. Consequently, a change of a setting temperature, which corresponds to an operation, can be viewed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a volume switch device, and more particularly to an improvement in cost.

  Conventionally, as a temperature adjustment volume for vehicle heater control, for example, there are design configurations shown in FIGS. 9 to 11. In FIG. 9, blue and red display designs 54 are attached around the operation volume 52, and the temperature is adjusted by rotating the operation volume 52 in either direction. A pointer 58 is provided on one end side of the operation volume knob 56 which is generally thin, and the temperature setting position can be visually recognized by the position of the pointer.

  The basic structure of the operation volume in the temperature adjustment volume shown in FIG. 10 is the same as that in FIG. In FIG. 10, a numerical value indicating a set temperature or a dot indicating a set position is added as a display design 60 along the periphery of the operation volume 52.

  The temperature adjustment volume shown in FIG. 11 is a type that displays the set temperature on the liquid crystal 62, and temperature adjustment is performed by rotating an endless type rotary operation volume 64 in either direction.

  By the way, the set temperature at night is made visible as follows. That is, the temperature control volume of the type shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 illuminates the display design portion from the back side using a bulb or LED. However, since this alone does not show the setting position of the operation volume, the pointer is also illuminated. Thus, the temperature setting position can be visually recognized by the transmitted light from the pointer. Further, in the temperature adjustment volume shown in FIG. 11, the displayed numbers can be visually recognized by backlighting the liquid crystal portion. Conventionally, by configuring as described above, the set temperature can be confirmed both day and night.

  However, in the temperature control volume of the type shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, it is essential to illuminate the pointer and transmit the pointer through the illumination, so the degree of freedom in design is reduced. On the other hand, the temperature adjustment volume shown in FIG. 11 ensures a degree of freedom in design, but the liquid crystal panel is an indispensable constituent element, and thus the cost cannot be reduced.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved volume type switch device that can solve the above-described conventional problems.

  In order to achieve the above object, the volume type switch device according to the present invention has an operation means for adjusting the volume setting value and a long bar shape, and when light enters from the end, A light transmission member that emits light in an incident color up to a position corresponding to the intensity of incident light from an incident end; and a first light emitting unit that is disposed on one end side of the light transmission member and emits a first color. A second light emitting means disposed on the other end side of the light transmitting member and emitting a second color different from the first color, and the first and second light sources according to an operation amount with respect to the operating means. And a light intensity control means for adjusting each light emission intensity of the light emitting means, wherein the volume setting value is indicated by the ratio of the emission color occupying the light transmission member.

  Further, the operation means is a rotary volume switch, and the light transmission member is curvedly arranged along the rotary volume switch.

  The operation means is a push-type volume switch, and the light transmission member is arranged linearly along the push-type volume switch.

  Further, the operation means is a seesaw type volume switch, and the light transmission member is linearly arranged along the seesaw type volume switch.

  The light transmission member is formed of an elastomer.

  According to the present invention, the light intensity of the first and second light emitting means is adjusted in accordance with the operation on the operating means, and the ratio of the light transmitting portion of the first color light emitting portion and the second color light emitting portion is occupied. Thus, the operator of the operation means can know the amount of change in volume by the change in the range occupied by each color of the light transmission member, and thereby confirm the volume setting value according to the operation. be able to. In the present invention, the setting value can be notified to the operator or the like without providing the operating means with a pointer indicating where the volume value is set as in the prior art. In addition, since the first and second color light emitting means can be used without using a liquid crystal panel, it is possible to cope with nighttime use, thereby preventing an increase in cost. In addition, it is possible to prevent a reduction in design freedom.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a temperature adjustment volume employing a rotary volume switch as an embodiment of a volume switch device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the temperature adjustment volume 2 in the present embodiment has an operation volume switch 4 for setting a temperature that is a volume setting value, and the operator turns the operation volume switch 4 clockwise or Adjust the set temperature by rotating in the reverse direction. Around the operation volume switch 4, a long bar-shaped light transmission member 6 curved so as to follow the circular shape of the operation volume switch 4 is disposed. The LEDs 8 and 10 are fixed to both ends of the light transmission member 6 by the attachment device 12, respectively. In the present embodiment, an elastomer is employed as the light transmission member 6. Generally, since the set temperature is raised by rotating the operation volume switch 4 clockwise, the LED 8 at the left end of the drawing emits light in blue and the LED 10 at the other end emits light in red. The light transmission member 6 emits light in red, blue, or both depending on the light intensity of the LEDs 8 and 10 incident from each end. In order to cause the light transmission member 6 to emit light efficiently with a small amount of power, it is desirable to expose only the surface of the light transmission member 6 visible to the operator and to cover the other surface with a member such as a light shielding sheet.

  FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the volume switch device according to the present embodiment. 2, circuits corresponding to the operation volume switch 4 and the LEDs 8 and 10 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a microcomputer 14 having a function of adjusting the light emission intensity of each of the LEDs 8 and 10 according to the operation amount with respect to the operation volume switch 4, transistors 16 and 18 for driving the LEDs 8 and 10, transistors 16, Eighteen base current limiting resistors 20 and 22 and current limiting resistors 24 and 26 of LEDs 8 and 10 are shown. The microcomputer 14 has an AD terminal for connecting the operation volume switch 4 and an output terminal for connecting the LEDs 8 and 10. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the operation angle of the operation volume switch 4 and the voltage signal input from the AD terminal. FIG. 3 shows that the voltage detected by the input signal from the AD terminal decreases as the operation volume switch 4 is rotated from the reference initial position (volume value = 0). In this example, the temperature can be set to the maximum state by rotating the operation volume switch 4 from the minimum state by 180 degrees. The microcomputer 14 detects the rotation direction and the rotation amount (angle) of the operation volume switch 4 based on the input signal from the AD terminal, and the average output from each output terminal by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation control) control according to the detection result. The voltage is controlled and the luminance of each LED 8, 10 is adjusted.

  Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is the same configuration diagram as FIG. 1, but shows the state of the light transmission member 6 when the LEDs 8 and 10 emit light with respect to FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, blue is shown with a left-upward hatching and red is shown with a right-upward hatching, but in FIG. Occupies the light transmission member 6 at a substantially equal rate.

  When the operation volume switch 4 is rotated counterclockwise (counterclockwise) as shown in FIG. 5, the microcomputer 14 increases the voltage according to the operation amount of the operation volume switch 4 by the input signal from the AD terminal. Is detected. According to FIG. 3, the angle approaches 0 degrees by a counterclockwise operation. When the microcomputer 14 detects an increase in voltage, the microcomputer 14 decreases the voltage supplied to the blue LED 8 and increases the voltage supplied to the red LED 10. As a result, the luminance of the blue LED 8 decreases and the luminance of the red LED 10 increases, so that the ratio of the red light emitting portion 6b to the light transmitting member 6 increases as shown in FIG. Thus, the light transmission member 6 emits light in each color up to a position corresponding to the light intensity of each LED 8, 10.

  On the other hand, when the operation volume switch 4 is rotated clockwise (clockwise) as shown in FIG. 6, the opposite action is performed. That is, the microcomputer 14 detects a voltage drop corresponding to the operation amount of the operation volume switch 4 based on an input signal from the AD terminal. According to FIG. 3, the angle approaches 180 degrees by a clockwise operation. When detecting a voltage drop, the microcomputer 14 increases the voltage supplied to the blue LED 8 and decreases the voltage supplied to the red LED 10. As a result, the luminance of the blue LED 8 increases and the luminance of the red LED 10 decreases, so that the proportion of the blue light emitting portion 6a occupying the light transmitting member 6 increases as shown in FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, the proportion of the blue light emitting portion 6a and the red light emitting portion 6b occupying the light transmitting member 6 changes according to the operation on the operation volume switch 4, so that the operator can change the range occupied by each color. Thus, it is possible to know the amount of change in the volume, and thus it is possible to visually recognize the change in the set temperature according to the operation. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, it is possible to notify the operator of the set temperature without providing the operation volume switch 4 with a pointer indicating the temperature setting position. Can reduce the degree of freedom. Further, since the two-color LEDs 8 and 10 can be used at night without using a liquid crystal panel, an increase in cost can be prevented.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a temperature adjustment volume employing a push-type volume switch as another embodiment of the volume switch device according to the present invention. The push switches 30 and 32 are operation means that replace the operation volume switch of the first embodiment. The light transmission member 6 in the present embodiment is arranged linearly along the arrangement of the push switches 30 and 32. LED8,10 of each color is attached to the both ends of the light transmission member 6. FIG.

  Since the operation in the present embodiment is basically the same as that in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. The difference from the first embodiment is that since the operation means is not rotary, the microcomputer 14 detects the operation amount on the operation means, not the rotation angle, but the push switches 30 and 32, and the LED 8 Increase / decrease the voltage supplied to 10. For example, when detecting that the push switch 30 is pressed, the microcomputer 14 decreases the voltage supplied to the blue LED 8 by one step and increases the voltage supplied to the red LED 10 by one step. Thereby, since the brightness | luminance of the blue LED 8 falls and the brightness | luminance of the red LED 10 goes up, the ratio which occupies the light transmission member 6 of the red light emission part 6b increases one step. Since the operation when the push switch 32 is pressed is only the reverse of the above, the description thereof is omitted. Note that the amount of change in the proportion of the light-emitting portion of each color in one stage is determined by the amount of change in voltage.

  If the push switches 30 and 32 are touch sensors, the ratio of each color occupying the light transmission member 6 may be adjusted by detecting the presence / absence of contact and the contact time.

  In the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a temperature adjustment volume employing a seesaw type volume switch as another embodiment of the volume switch device according to the present invention. The seesaw switch 34 is an operation means that replaces the push switch of the second embodiment. The light transmission member 6 in the present embodiment is disposed linearly along the seesaw switch 34. LED8,10 of each color is attached to the both ends of the light transmission member 6. FIG. In the present embodiment, the action by the pressing operation of the left side 34a of the seesaw switch 34 is the same as the action when the push switch 30 is pressed in the second embodiment, and the action by the pressing operation of the right side 34b is the same as that of the embodiment. Since this is the same as the operation when the push switch 32 is pressed in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the volume switch device according to the present invention is applied to the temperature adjustment volume of the heater control of the vehicle has been described as an example. However, the volume switch device may be applied to the temperature adjustment volume of other products. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the temperature setting, and can be applied as a setting switch other than the temperature such as audio.

  In this embodiment, since the temperature adjustment volume is taken as an example, the colors of the LEDs 8 and 10 attached to both ends of the light transmission member 6 are general blue and red. However, the color may be appropriately changed depending on the switch to be applied. it can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the schematic block diagram which showed the temperature control volume which employ | adopted the rotary volume switch as Embodiment 1 of the volume switch apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram of a volume switch device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an operation angle of an operation volume switch and a voltage signal input from an AD terminal in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a state of a light transmission member of a temperature adjustment volume in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state of a light transmission member when a temperature adjustment volume in Embodiment 1 is operated counterclockwise. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state of a light transmission member when a temperature adjustment volume in Embodiment 1 is operated clockwise. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the temperature control volume which employ | adopted the push-type volume switch as Embodiment 2 of the volume switch apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the temperature control volume which employ | adopted the seesaw type volume switch as Embodiment 3 of the volume switch apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the conventional temperature control volume. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the temperature control volume of the other conventional form. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the temperature control volume of the other conventional form.

Explanation of symbols

  2 temperature adjustment volume, 4 operation volume switch, 6 light transmission member, 6a blue light emitting part, 6b red light emitting part, 8,10 LED, 12 mounting fixture, 14 microcomputer, 16, 18 transistor, 20, 22 base current limiting resistor, 24,26 Current limiting resistor, 30,32 Push switch, 34 Seesaw switch, 34a Left side of seesaw switch, 34b Right side of seesaw switch.

Claims (5)

Operation means for adjusting the volume setting value;
A light transmission member that has a long bar shape and emits light in an incident color to a position corresponding to the intensity of light incident from the incident end when light is incident from the end;
A first light emitting means disposed on one end side of the light transmission member and emitting a first color;
A second light emitting means disposed on the other end side of the light transmission member and emitting a second color different from the first color;
A light intensity control means for adjusting the light emission intensity of each of the first and second light emitting means according to an operation amount with respect to the operation means;
And a volume setting value is indicated by the ratio of the emission color occupying the light transmission member. The volume switch device according to claim 1,
The operation means is a rotary volume switch,
The volume switch device, wherein the light transmission member is curvedly arranged along the rotary volume switch. The volume switch device according to claim 1,
The operation means is a push-type volume switch,
The volume switch device, wherein the light transmission member is arranged linearly along the push type volume switch. The volume switch device according to claim 1,
The operating means is a seesaw type volume switch,
The volume switch device, wherein the light transmission member is arranged linearly along the seesaw type volume switch. The volume switch device according to claim 1,
The volume switch device, wherein the light transmission member is made of an elastomer.

Images