JP2008308129A - Lighting panel and lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting panel capable of appropriately lighting only a specific lighting area. <P>SOLUTION: In a lighting panel 20, a specific lighting area 30 is lighted from a backside by a lighting light source 60. A panel body 21 having recess/projection parts 26, 28 including at least one of the recess parts 26a, 28a and the projection part, is provided on a front side of a non-lighting area 40 other than the lighting area 30. The front side of the non-lighting area 40 of this panel body 21 is coated with a coating material 23 having translucent property, and a light shielding layer 50 for intercepting incidence of light to the panel body 21 in a specific area from the lighting light source 60, is provided only in the specific area within the non-lighting area 40 of the backside of the panel body 21, including the recess/projection parts 26, 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination panel having an illumination light source.

  Conventionally, an instrument panel or the like of an automobile is provided with an illumination device that illuminates a switch operation panel or the like with an illumination light source.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a display unit including characters is provided on the operation panel of the switch, and the display unit is illuminated by an illumination light source. In this illuminating device, the light-shielding paint is applied to the front side surface of the main body portion of the light-transmitting operation panel, and the display portion is formed by removing a part of the paint. And the character is illuminated when the light from the light source for illumination provided in the back surface side of the said operation panel permeate | transmits the said display part.

Here, as described above, as a method of coating the front side surface of the main body portion of the lighting panel, as shown in FIG. 5, the paint is supplied to the front side surface of the lighting panel from a certain direction. There is a method of attaching to the side.
JP 2003-217398 A

  In the case of applying the coating by the above-described method, as shown in FIG. 5, when the recess B26a is formed on the front side surface of the illumination panel B20, the surface of the illumination panel B20 is a part of the recess B26a (see FIG. 5). As a result of obstructing the adhesion of the paint B23 to the (A portion), uneven coating may occur. Similarly, coating unevenness may also occur when convex portions are formed on the front side surface of the lighting panel. In the conventional lighting device as described above, as described above, when a portion where coating unevenness occurs and the paint is not sufficiently adhered is formed on the front side surface of the lighting panel, the illumination light source is formed from this portion. There is a problem that the light leaks.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an illumination panel that can more appropriately illuminate only a specific illumination area.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is an illumination panel in which a specific illumination area is illuminated from the back side by an illumination light source, has translucency, and is non-illuminated other than the illumination area A panel main body having a specific uneven portion including at least one of a concave portion and a convex portion is provided on the front side surface of the region, and a light-shielding paint is applied to the front side surface of the non-illuminated region of the panel main body. Illumination characterized in that a light-shielding layer that prevents light from entering from the illumination light source to the panel body in the specific area is provided only in a specific area within the non-illumination area and including the concavo-convex portion in the back side surface. A panel is provided (claim 1).

  According to such a structure, since the light-shielding layer is provided in the non-illuminated region and in the region including the concavo-convex portion in the back side surface of the panel body, the paint is applied to the region including the concavo-convex portion. Even if it is not sufficiently adhered, the light shielding layer prevents light from entering the region including the uneven portion. This suppresses light leakage in the non-illuminated area and realizes appropriate illumination only in the illuminated area.

  Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the said light shielding layer is provided only in the one part area | region including the said uneven | corrugated | grooved part among the said non-illumination area | region (Claim 2).

  In this structure, the light-shielding layer is provided only in a part of the non-illuminated area including the concavo-convex portion where the paint is difficult to adhere, and light leakage in the non-illuminated area can be efficiently suppressed.

  In the present invention, the region where the light-shielding layer is provided is the entire region where the light emitted from the illumination light source can enter and the light reaches the concavo-convex portion by irregular reflection within the panel body. It is preferable that it is the area | region to include (Claim 3).

  In this way, the light-shielding layer can block light reaching the concavo-convex portion by irregular reflection in addition to the light directly incident on the concavo-convex portion, and light leakage at the concavo-convex portion is more reliably ensured. It is suppressed.

  In addition, when the uneven portion has a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions, and the plurality of concave portions or the plurality of convex portions are concentrated in a partial region of the front side surface of the panel body, It is preferable to provide a light shielding layer in a region including the plurality of concave portions or all of the plurality of convex portions.

  If it does in this way, the light leakage in a several recessed part or convex part can be efficiently suppressed with a simple structure.

  Further, in the present invention, the panel body is made of a synthetic resin having translucency, the light shielding layer is made of a synthetic resin having a light shielding property or a colored synthetic resin, and the panel body and the light shielding layer are made of Are preferably formed integrally with each other (claim 5).

  In this way, it is possible to simplify the structure of the entire apparatus while maintaining the translucency of the panel body and the light shielding property of the light shielding layer.

  In addition, the present invention includes the illumination panel and an illumination light source for illuminating the illumination panel, and the illumination panel and the illumination light source emit light from the illumination light source. Also included are those arranged so as to reach the region (claim 6).

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an illumination panel capable of suppressing light leakage in a non-illumination region of the illumination panel and more reliably illuminating only the illumination region.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Here, a case where the lighting device according to the present invention is applied to a switch attached to an instrument panel and the operation panel of the switch has a function of being illuminated as the lighting panel according to the present invention will be described. Further, as this switch, a switch in which the air direction of the air conditioner is changed by pressing the operation panel will be exemplified.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the switch 10 is attached to the instrument panel 100, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of FIG. The switch 10 includes an operation panel 20 that can function as the illumination panel, a switch element (not shown), and the like. In the present embodiment, an LED (illumination light source) 60 for illuminating the operation panel 20 is provided on the back side of the operation panel 20. The illumination device according to the present invention includes the operation panel 20 and the LED 60.

  The LED 60 is for illuminating a display unit 30 described later provided on the operation panel 20. The LED 60 is mounted on a circuit board 110 provided on the back side of the instrument panel 100. More specifically, the LED 60 is provided at a position facing the display unit 30 of the operation panel 20 in the circuit board 110, and illuminates the back surface of the operation panel 20 by emitting light on the front side. .

  The operation panel 20 changes the wind direction of the air conditioner by being pressed as described above. The operation panel 20 is a substantially plate-like member and has a shape that is convex on the front side. A part of the instrument panel 100 is attached so as to protrude to the front side. Further, the operation panel 20 has a display unit 30 formed of a graphic for displaying what operation the operation panel 20 is to perform on the front side surface. And this operation panel 20 ensures the visibility of this operation panel also at night etc. because the said display part 30 is illuminated by said LED60.

  The operation panel 20 has a panel main body 21 which is a main body portion thereof. The panel body 21 is made of acrylic or polycarbonate synthetic resin and has translucency. A white paint layer 22 is formed on the front side surface of the panel body 21 by applying a white paint over the entire area. This white paint has translucency. This white paint layer 22 can be omitted.

  Here, in the display unit 30, the white coating layer 22 is exposed on the front side. Accordingly, in the illumination area of the operation panel 20 where the display unit 30 is provided, the light from the LED 80 passes through the panel body 21 having a light transmitting property and the white paint layer 22 and emits light on the front side. .

  On the other hand, in the non-illumination area 40 excluding the display unit 30 in the operation panel 20, the black paint layer 23 is formed on the front side surface of the white paint layer 22. This black paint has light shielding properties.

  Further, on the front side surface of the non-illuminated area 40 excluding the display unit 30 in the operation panel 20, a first uneven portion 26 and a second uneven portion 28 are formed at positions adjacent to each other. Specifically, the first uneven portion 26 includes ten dimples 26a arranged in two rows at equal intervals, and the second uneven portion 28 is a groove extending over both ends of the operation panel 20. 28a.

  In addition, a light shielding layer 50 is provided in a region including the first uneven portion 26 and a region including the second uneven portion 28 on the back surface side of the panel body 21.

  The light shielding layer 50 is made of colored acrylic or polycarbonate synthetic resin, and has light shielding properties. The light shielding layer 50 includes at least a portion of the back side surface of the operation panel 20 where light emitted from the LED 60 reaches the first uneven portion 26 due to irregular reflection in the panel body 21. And the light is provided in a region including all portions where the light reaches the second uneven portion 28 by the irregular reflection. Here, in the present embodiment, since the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 are adjacent to each other, the light shielding layer 50 is formed on the first uneven surface on the back side surface of the operation panel 20. The portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 are provided over the entire region so as to simplify the structure. Further, the light shielding layer 50 extends to the end of the panel body 21.

  In this way, in the portion of the non-illuminated area 40 excluding the display unit 30 in the operation panel 20 where the light shielding layer 50 is provided, the light shielding layer 50 allows the light from the LED 80 to pass through the panel body. 21 is prevented from entering. On the other hand, in the portion of the non-illuminated area 40 where the light shielding layer 50 is not provided, the light is incident on the panel main body 21, but the black coating layer 23 causes the light to enter the front side of the operation panel 20. Prevent transmission.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the operation panel 20 configured as described above will be described.

  First, the panel main body 21 having the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 is formed from the translucent synthetic resin. Next, the light shielding layer 50 is formed by molding the light shielding synthetic resin on the back side surface of the panel body 21 in two colors. Here, in the present embodiment, the light shielding layer 50 has a shape that covers the entire first concavo-convex portion 26 and the second concavo-convex portion 28 and extends to the end of the panel body 21, and is relatively easy. In addition, the light shielding layer 50 can be formed.

  Next, the white paint layer 22 is formed by coating the translucent white paint on the front side surface of the panel body 21. Further, the black paint layer 23 is formed by painting the black paint on the front side surface of the white paint layer 22. Thus, after forming the black coating layer 23, the part corresponding to the said display part 30 among this black coating layer 23 is removed with a laser etc., and the said display part 30 is formed.

  Here, in the painting step, as shown in FIG. 3, paint is sprayed on the front side surface in a predetermined direction from a position spaced upward from the front side surface of the panel body 21. Therefore, if the surface you want to paint is a flat surface without unevenness, it will be applied evenly, but if there is a part that rises upward on the surface you want to paint, the paint will be sufficiently applied to the shadowed part of this rising part. It may not be sprayed and may cause uneven coating. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, in the portion C of the dimple 26 a of the first concavo-convex portion 26, the side wall of the dimple 26 a becomes a shadow of the front side surface of the panel body 21. Sufficient paint does not adhere to C. Similarly, in the second uneven portion 28, sufficient paint does not adhere to the side wall portion of the groove 28a.

  And when the part which the said black coating material does not adhere sufficiently arises in this way, there exists a possibility that light may leak in this part. However, in the operation panel 20, since the light shielding layer 50 is provided in the region including the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 as described above, the light shielding layer 50 suppresses the light leakage. .

  Next, how the operation panel 20 is irradiated with light from the LED 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the LED 60 is turned on, the light emitted from the LED 60 is incident on the back side surface of the operation panel 20. Of this light, the light incident on the display unit 30 of the operation panel 20 is transmitted through the panel body 21 and the white coating layer 22 and guided to the front side. On the other hand, light that has entered the non-illuminated region 40 of the operation panel 20 out of the light is blocked by the light shielding layer 50 or the black paint layer 23.

  Specifically, in the portion of the non-illuminated area 40 of the operation panel 20 where the light shielding layer 50 is not provided, the light passes through the panel body 21 and the white paint layer 22 and then the black paint. Cut off at layer 23. Here, the portion where the light shielding layer 50 is not provided does not include the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28, and thus the black coating layer 23 is coated evenly. Even without the light shielding layer 50, the black coating layer 23 alone can sufficiently block the light.

  On the other hand, in the portion including the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 in the non-illuminated area 40 of the operation panel 20, the light is blocked by the light blocking layer 50 before reaching the panel body 21. Is done. Therefore, as described above, when the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 are coated with the black paint, even if uneven coating occurs in the uneven portions 26 and 28, the The light is blocked by the light shielding layer 50 before reaching the black paint layer 23. Thus, in this operation panel 20, the light shielding layer 50 reliably blocks the light and suppresses light leakage from the first concavo-convex portion 26 or the second concavo-convex portion 28 that is likely to cause the coating unevenness. . Thereby, the visibility of the display unit 30 is improved.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, as described above, the light shielding layer 50 is provided in a region including all portions where the light reaches the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28 by irregular reflection. Also, light leakage due to irregular reflection in the panel body 21 and the like is avoided.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the light shielding layer 50 has a shape that covers the entire first uneven portion 26 including the plurality of dimples 26a, for example, the light shielding layer 50 is formed for each of the plurality of dimples 26a. Compared to the case, effective light shielding is realized while reducing the number of light shielding layers 50.

  Here, the specific structures of the illumination panel and the illumination device according to the present invention and the application targets thereof are not limited to the above.

  The illumination panel is not limited to the operation panel as described above. For example, the instrument panel 100 is directly provided with a display unit made up of figures, characters, etc., and the display unit is configured to be illuminated. May be.

  The specific structure of the light shielding layer 50 is not limited to the above. For example, the light shielding layer 50 may be a light shielding sheet, and the sheet may be attached to the back side of the panel body 20. However, if the light shielding layer 50 and the panel body 21 are integrally formed by two-color molding or the like as in the embodiment, the entire structure can be further simplified and the assembly is facilitated.

  In addition, the light shielding layer 50 may be provided only in portions facing the first uneven portion 26 and the second uneven portion 28, respectively. Further, a plurality of dimples 26a and the like may be provided.

  Moreover, the specific structure of the said uneven | corrugated | grooved part 26 and 28 is not restricted above. In the above-described embodiment, the dimple 26a and the groove 28a having a shape recessed with respect to the front side surface of the panel main body 21 have been described, but a convex portion protruding from the front side surface to the front side may be used. And even when a convex part is provided, the light leakage suppression effect in the convex part by the said light shielding layer 50 is acquired similarly to the said embodiment.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state with which the illuminating device which concerns on this invention was attached to the instrument panel. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the illuminating device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a mode that the operation panel is illuminated in the illuminating device shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the coating method in the conventional illuminating device.

Explanation of symbols

10 switch 20 operation panel (lighting panel)
21 Panel body 22 White paint layer 23 Black paint layer 26a Dimple (recess)
26 1st uneven part 28a Groove (concave part)
28 Second uneven portion 30 Display portion (illumination area)
40 non-illuminated area 50 light shielding layer 60 LED (light source for illumination)

Claims (6)

An illumination panel in which a specific illumination area is illuminated from the back side by an illumination light source,
A panel body having translucency and having a specific concavo-convex part including at least one of a concave part and a convex part on the front side surface of the non-illumination area other than the illumination area,
A light-shielding paint is applied to the front side of the non-illuminated area of this panel body,
A light-shielding layer that prevents light from entering from the illumination light source to the panel body in the specific area is provided only in a specific area within the non-illumination area and including the concavo-convex portion on the back side surface of the panel body. Characteristic lighting panel. The lighting panel according to claim 1,
The said light shielding layer is provided only in the one part area | region including the said uneven | corrugated | grooved part among the said non-illumination area | regions, The illumination panel characterized by the above-mentioned. The lighting panel according to claim 2,
The region where the light shielding layer is provided is a region including all the regions where the light emitted from the illumination light source can be incident and the light reaches the concavo-convex portion by irregular reflection in the panel body. Characteristic lighting panel. The lighting panel according to claim 3,
The uneven portion has a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions,
The plurality of concave portions or the plurality of convex portions are concentrated in a partial region of the front side surface of the panel body,
The light-shielding layer is provided in a region including the plurality of concave portions or all of the plurality of convex portions. In the lighting panel in any one of Claims 1-4,
The panel body is made of a synthetic resin having translucency,
The light shielding layer is made of a synthetic resin having a light shielding property or a colored synthetic resin,
The lighting panel, wherein the panel body and the light shielding layer are formed integrally with each other. The lighting panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An illumination light source for illuminating the illumination panel;
The illumination device, wherein the illumination panel and the illumination light source are arranged so that light emitted from the illumination light source reaches an illumination area of the illumination panel.

Images