JP2013089490A - Illumination-type switch structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination-type switch structure easy to operate and allowing a display light-emitting part in a push button to illuminate uniformly.SOLUTION: An illumination-type switch structure comprises: an LED 60 provided in a switch storage part 45; a push button 41 including a display light-emitting part 43 for transmitting light of the LED 60, and disposed so that the push button 41 can be reciprocated; a slider 51 formed of a resin material containing a diffusion material in a bottomed cylinder shape, and disposed in the switch storage part 45 so that the slider 51 can be reciprocated; a compression coil spring 53 having one end stored in a cylindrical opening 51a of the slider 51 and the other end fixed to the LED 60 on a side of the switch storage part 45, for urging the slider 51 in a direction opposed to a pressing direction of the push button 41; and a switch terminal attached to the slider 51, for opening/closing a switch circuit according to reciprocating movement of the push button 41. A bottom portion side end 51b of the slider 51 is abutted on the display light-emitting part 43 from a back face side of the push button 41, and an opening side end thereof is arranged so as to face the LED 60.

Description

  The present invention relates to an illuminated switch structure.

Conventionally, in various electronic devices such as home appliances and in-vehicle devices, an illuminated switch structure that illuminates a key top with a light emitting element so that the position of the push button switch can be understood even in a dark place is widely used (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
As shown in FIG. 8, this type of illuminated switch structure includes a switch unit 120 having a driven part 123 provided so as to be capable of reciprocating for switching, and a light emitting part (LED 130). And a push button 140 (push button). The push button 140 is provided at the outer end portion to form a space 155 that accommodates the light emitting unit 130155 between the push button 140 and the light transmitting unit 122 that transmits light from the light emitting unit 130 (display light emitting unit). The substrate 110 is sandwiched between a locking claw 160 that extends from one side portion 211 a of the push button 140 and is inserted into the fitting hole 111 of the substrate 110 and is locked to the substrate 110, and the tip of the locking claw 160. A clamping protrusion 170 and a coupling portion 180 provided on the other side portion 211 a of the push button 140 and coupled to the driven portion 123 of the switch unit 120 are provided.

  According to the illumination type switch structure, since the latching claw and the clamping protrusion sandwich the substrate to form the fulcrum portion, there is no need to provide a thin swing hinge, and the material fatigues even if it is repeatedly operated. Not easily damaged by Therefore, excellent durability against repeated operations can be obtained.

JP 2010-218810 A

However, in the case of the illumination type switch structure as described above, since the light emitting portion is arranged at the center of the push button, the driven portion of the switch unit is shifted (displaced) from the center of the push button. Therefore, when the push button is pushed diagonally, there is a possibility that the push button cannot be pushed.
In addition, since the light from the LED is directly applied to the push button, there is a problem that unevenness tends to occur in the light transmitting portion of the push button due to the characteristics of the LED in which the light amount is concentrated near the irradiation axis.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an illumination type switch structure that is easy to operate and that allows the display light emitting portion of a push button to shine uniformly.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A light-emitting part provided in a switch housing part of the housing, a push button provided with a display light-emitting part through which light from the light-emitting part is transmitted, and reciprocally movable, and a resin material including a diffusing material A light guide member that is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to be reciprocally movable in the switch housing portion, one end portion is housed in a cylindrical opening of the light guide member, and the other end portion is on the switch housing portion side And a compression coil spring that urges the light guide member in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the push button, and is attached to the light guide member to open and close the switch circuit in accordance with the reciprocation of the push button. A switch terminal, and the light guide member has a bottom side end abutted on the display light emitting part from a back side of the push button and an opening side end opposed to the light emitting part. Characteristic illuminated switch Chi structure.

According to the illumination type switch structure having the configuration (1), the light from the light emitting part is incident on the light guide member from the opening-side end arranged to face the light emitting unit. Since the light guide member is formed of a resin material including a diffusing material, the incident light becomes scattered light and is emitted from the bottom side end. Therefore, the scattered light is incident on the display light-emitting portion, and the display light-emitting portion can emit light uniformly.
In addition, since the switch circuit is opened and closed according to the reciprocation of the push button by the switch terminal attached to the light guide member that reciprocates, the driven unit of the switch unit is moved to a position shifted from the center of the push button as in the past. There is no need to provide a portion, and the push button can reciprocate smoothly.

(2) An illuminated switch structure configured as described in (1) above, wherein the light emitting section is a semiconductor light emitting element.
According to the illumination type switch structure having the above configuration (2), the light emitting unit uses a semiconductor light emitting element in which the amount of light is concentrated in the vicinity of the emission axis, such as an LED, so that the light is emitted to the opening side end of the light guide member arranged oppositely. Can be efficiently incident. Therefore, the utilization efficiency of the light emitted from the light emitting unit is increased, and the light emitting unit can be downsized accordingly.

(3) An illumination type switch structure having the configuration of (2) above, wherein one end portion of the compression coil spring is supported and fixed to the light emitting portion.
According to the illumination type switch structure having the configuration (3), the spring support member is fixed by supporting and fixing the other end portion of the compression coil spring via the semiconductor light emitting element as the light emitting portion fixed in the switch housing portion. It can be omitted to reduce the number of parts. That is, since the semiconductor light emitting element is covered with the sealing resin having a relatively high strength, the other end portion of the compression coil spring can be directly supported.

  According to the illuminated switch structure of the present invention, it is possible to provide an illuminated switch structure that is easy to operate and the display light emitting portion of the push button can shine uniformly.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

It is a room side perspective view of the room lamp unit provided with the illumination type switch structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is an outdoor perspective view of the room lamp unit shown in FIG. It is a top view of the room lamp unit shown in FIG. It is an AA cross-sectional arrow view in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the switch member shown in FIG. It is a whole perspective view of the push button shown in FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the modification of the illumination type switch structure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the conventional illumination type switch structure.

Hereinafter, a room lamp unit including an illumination type switch structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the room lamp unit 1 according to the present embodiment is arranged on the interior side of a roof trim (not shown) and on the outdoor side of the roof trim, and is attached to a lamp mounting hole. And a functional portion 3 assembled in a state where the roof trim is sandwiched by being coupled to the design portion 2 through. In the present specification, the vertical direction is defined according to the direction when the vehicle body is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the design portion 2 includes a base housing 21 and a transparent or translucent cover lens 22 mounted on the lower surface side of the base housing 21. The base housing 21 includes a rectangular frame plate portion 23 that is exposed to the vehicle interior side, and a protruding portion 24 that is formed along the periphery of the upper surface of the frame plate portion 23 and rises upward.

  A button storage portion 25 is formed in a part of the frame plate portion 23 (see FIG. 4). The button storage section 25 stores a push button 41 that can reciprocate in the vertical direction with respect to the frame plate section 23, and constitutes a switch storage section 45 together with a slider storage section 35 of the function section 3 described later. ing. A switch member 44 is stored in the switch storage portion 45, and the switch member 44 is reciprocated by the push button 41.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the protruding portion 24 of the base housing 21 is a wall portion that protrudes so as to substantially surround the upper surface side of the frame plate portion 23. Two pairs of locking claws 26 are formed on the pair of opposing side walls of the projecting portion 24 (both side walls in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame plate portion 23 in this embodiment) toward the side. Yes. These locking claws 26 lock locking plates 38 provided on both sides of a housing 31 described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the functional unit 3 includes a housing 31 that is integrally formed of synthetic resin. The housing 31 includes a light source storage portion 33 for storing the light source 42, a pair of slider storage portions 35, and a bus bar 4 made of a metal plate (made of a conductive material).
Two pairs of locking plates 38 are provided on both sides of the housing 31. The locking plate 38 is a substantially U-shaped plate, and is disposed at a position corresponding to the locking claw 26 of the design portion 2. When the design portion 2 and the functional portion 3 are assembled, these locking plates 38 are locked to the locking claws 26.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the switch storage unit 45 configured by the button storage unit 25 of the design unit 2 and the slider storage unit 35 of the functional unit 3 includes an LED ( The push button 41 provided with the light emission part) 60, the display light emission part 43 through which the light of LED60 passes, and the switch member 44 are accommodated.

  The LED 60 is a semiconductor light emitting element covered with a bullet-shaped sealing resin, and emits light having a concentrated light amount in the vicinity of the emission axis. The LED 60 is fixed to the bus bar 4 disposed in the housing 31, and is arranged so that the emission axis coincides with the central axis of a cylindrical opening 51a of the slider 51 described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the push button 41 is integrally formed of a transparent polycarbonate resin, and has a rectangular operation surface 41 a and three guide walls 41 b that are suspended from three sides of the operation surface 41 a. It consists of. The display light emitting unit 43 is formed by coating the surface of the operated surface 41a and then peeling the coating into a desired symbol mark shape with a laser.
The guide walls 41b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the push button 41 are formed with elongated holes 47 extending in the vertical direction, and the engagement protrusions 27 protruding from the corresponding portions of the button storage portion 25 are engaged with each other. In addition to preventing the button 41 from falling off the button storage portion 25, the reciprocating stroke of the push button 41 is defined (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the switch member 44 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape (in this embodiment, a cylindrical hole is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism-shaped outer shape), and is disposed so as to reciprocate in the slider storage portion 35. The slider (light guide member) 51 and one end (lower end in the figure) are housed in a cylindrical opening (cylindrical opening) 51a of the slider 51 and the other end (upper end in the figure). Is fixed to the switch housing 44 side, and a compression coil spring 53 that urges the slider 51 in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the push button 41 (downward in the figure), and a switch circuit according to the reciprocating motion of the push button 41. In order to open and close, a switch terminal 55 attached to the slider 51 is provided.

The slider 51 is formed of a resin material such as polycarbonate resin including a diffusing material, and is a light guide member that emits light incident from the opening side end of the cylindrical opening 51a as scattered light from the bottom side end 51b. A pair of latching portions 51 c for attaching the switch terminal 55 is formed on the intermediate body portion of the slider 51.
The slider 51 has a bottom side end 51 b brought into contact with the display light emitting unit 43 from the back side of the operated surface 41 a of the push button 41, and an opening side end 51 a opposed to the LED 60.

The compression coil spring 53 has an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the cylindrical opening 51a of the slider 51, and has a total length longer than the depth of the cylindrical opening 51a.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the other end portion of the compression coil spring 53 is supported and fixed to the LED 60 fixed to the bus bar 4 on the switch housing portion 44 side.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the switch terminal 55 includes a pair of clamping pieces 55a formed in a U-shape and a pair of contact terminal pieces 55b. The pair of sandwiching pieces 55 a is attached to the slider 51 by hooking a latching protrusion projecting at the tip of the pair of sandwiching pieces 55 a on the latching portion 51 c of the slider 51. The pair of contact terminal pieces 55b can open and close the switch circuit according to the reciprocating motion of the push button 41 by being intermittently connected to the board-side terminal 12 of the control board 10 disposed adjacent to the slider storage portion 35.

Next, an assembly procedure of the room lamp 1 according to this embodiment will be described.
First, the push button 41 is inserted into the button storage portion 25 provided in the base housing 21 of the function portion 3 from below, and the elongated hole 47 of the guide wall 41 b is engaged with the locking protrusion 27 of the button storage portion 25. Store.
Next, the switch terminal 55 is attached to the slider 51, and the switch member 44 assembled by mounting the compression coil spring 53 in the cylindrical opening 51 a is disposed in the slider storage portion 35.

The compression coil spring 53 is supported and fixed in a compressed state by fixing the bus bar 4 to the switch housing portion 44 so that the LED 60 fixed to the bus bar 4 contacts the other end of the compression coil spring 53. The At the same time, the LED 60 is disposed opposite to the opening side end 51 a of the slider 51.
When the design portion 2 and the functional portion 3 are assembled when the vehicle is mounted, the bottom side end 51b of the slider 51 is in contact with the display light emitting portion 43 from the back side of the operated surface 41a of the push button 41. It becomes.

Therefore, according to the room lamp unit 1 according to the above embodiment, when the LED 60 is turned on by pressing the push button 41, the light of the LED 60 is incident on the slider 51 from the opening-side end 51a arranged to face. Since the slider 51 is formed of a resin material including a diffusing material, the incident light becomes scattered light and is emitted from the bottom side end 51b. Therefore, scattered light is incident on the display light emitting unit 43 of the push button 41, and the display light emitting unit 43 can emit light uniformly.
Since the compression coil spring 53 mounted in the cylindrical opening 51a of the slider 51 is hollow at the center, the light along the emission axis of the LED 60 is not blocked by the compression coil spring 53. The light can enter the slider 51.

In addition, the switch terminal 55 attached to the reciprocating slider 51 opens and closes the switch circuit in accordance with the reciprocating motion of the push button 41, so that the switch unit cover is moved to a position shifted from the center of the push button as in the prior art. There is no need to provide a drive unit, and the push button 41 can reciprocate smoothly.
Furthermore, by using the LED 60 in which the amount of light is concentrated in the vicinity of the emission axis as the light emitting portion, light can be efficiently incident on the opening-side end 51a of the slider 51 disposed to face the light emitting portion. Thus, the utilization efficiency of the light emitted from the LED 60 is increased, and the LED 60 can be downsized accordingly. Of course, the light emitting part in the illuminated switch structure of the present invention is not limited to a semiconductor light emitting element such as an LED, and other light emitting parts such as a light source bulb can also be used.

Further, by supporting and fixing the other end portion of the compression coil spring 53 via the LED 60 fixed in the switch housing portion 45, the number of parts can be reduced by omitting the spring support member. That is, since the LED 60 is covered with a sealing resin having a relatively high strength, the other end portion of the compression coil spring 53 can be directly supported.
However, the illuminated switch structure of the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in the modified example of FIG. 7, the other end portion of the compression coil spring 53 is supported using a lid 65 which is a spring support member. It can also be fixed.
Therefore, according to the room lamp unit 1 provided with the illumination type switch structure concerning this invention, it becomes easy to operate and can light-emit the display light emission part of a push button uniformly.

  The illuminated switch structure of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified and improved. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Room lamp unit 2 Design part 3 Function part 21 Base housing 25 Button accommodating part 31 Housing 35 Slider accommodating part 41 Push button 43 Display light emission amount 44 Switch member 45 Switch accommodating part 51 Slider (light guide member)
51a Cylindrical opening (cylindrical opening)
51b Bottom side end 53 Compression coil spring 55 Switch terminal 60 LED (light emitting part)

Claims (3)

A light emitting part provided in a switch housing part of the housing;
A push button provided with a display light-emitting part through which light from the light-emitting part is transmitted and arranged to be reciprocally movable;
A light guide member that is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape with a resin material including a diffusing material and is disposed so as to reciprocate within the switch housing;
One end is housed in the cylindrical opening of the light guide member, and the other end is fixed to the switch housing portion side, and the light guide member is urged in a direction opposite to the pressing direction of the push button. A coil spring;
In order to open and close the switch circuit according to the reciprocating movement of the push button, a switch terminal attached to the light guide member,
With
The light guide member has a bottom side end brought into contact with the display light emitting part from the back side of the push button, and an opening side end arranged to face the light emitting part. The illuminated switch structure according to claim 1,
An illumination type switch structure, wherein the light emitting part is a semiconductor light emitting element. The illuminated switch structure according to claim 2,
An illuminated switch structure, wherein one end portion of the compression coil spring is supported and fixed to the light emitting portion.

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