JP2022188404A - Operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an operation device capable of improving the visibility of an operation unit.SOLUTION: An operation device according to an aspect of an embodiment includes an operation unit and a concavo-convex portion. The operation unit includes a light-emitting unit and a reflection member that includes a first reflection surface and a second reflection surface located at a location facing the first reflection surface and having a lower light transmittance than the first reflection surface, the reflection member reflecting light from the light-emitting unit between the first reflection surface and second reflection surface and emitting the light from the first reflection surface. The concavo-convex portion is partially formed on the first reflection surface and has a concavo-convex shape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an operating device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of operating devices have been proposed, for example, by illuminating operating sections such as various switches and knobs in a vehicle so that passengers can easily see the operating sections even at night (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-124190 A

However, the prior art still has room for further improvement in terms of improving the visibility of the operation unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation device capable of improving visibility of an operation unit.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an operating device that includes an operating section and an uneven section. The operating section includes a light emitting section, a first reflecting surface, and a second reflecting surface formed at a position facing the first reflecting surface and having a lower light transmittance than the first reflecting surface, and transmits light from the light emitting section to the A reflecting member that reflects light between the first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface and emits the light from the first reflecting surface. The uneven portion is partially formed on the first reflecting surface and has an uneven shape.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the visibility of the operating portion in the operating device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an operating device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the operating section. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the operating portion. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the state of light from a reflecting member. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the reflection principle of the reflecting member. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the reflecting member. FIG. 8 is a front view of the reflecting member when viewed from the front surface. FIG. 9 is a back view of the reflecting member when viewed from the back side. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a reflecting member according to a modification. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the state of light from a reflecting member according to the modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an operating device disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by embodiment shown below.

First, an example of the operating device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an operating device according to an embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 1 is a front view of an operating device. 1 and FIGS. 2 to 11, which will be described later, are schematic diagrams.

For convenience of understanding, FIG. 1 also shows a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system defined by mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions. Such an orthogonal coordinate system may also be shown in other drawings used in the description below. The orthogonal coordinate system is the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction when the operation device 1 is in the illustrated state, and does not limit the installation direction, arrangement direction, etc. of the operation device 1 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the operating device 1 is, for example, a device for operating an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle. The in-vehicle device is, for example, an audio device, but is not limited to this, and may be another device such as a navigation device or an air conditioner.

The operating device 1 according to the embodiment includes an operating section 10 , a frame section 100 and a display section 200 . The operation unit 10 is a member for receiving operations by a user including a passenger of the vehicle and operating various functions of the in-vehicle device. As an example, the operation unit 10 is a dial type (rotary type) switch, and can receive a user's rotation operation to adjust the volume or the like of the audio device.

Note that the operation unit 10 can improve visibility for the user by emitting light from a light emitting unit 20 (see FIG. 3) described later, which will be described in detail later. In addition, the operation unit 10 is configured to emit light with a sense of depth, which will also be described later.

The frame portion 100 functions as a frame of the operating device 1 and a cover for the display portion 200 . Further, the frame portion 100 is provided with the operation portion 10 . Specifically, the frame portion 100 is provided so that a portion of the operation portion 10 is exposed. The display unit 200 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and can display various information.

Next, the operating section 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the operating section 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the operating section 10. FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the IV-IV line in FIG. 1, and is a sectional view of the operation unit 10 and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the operating portion 10 is provided in a circular opening 100a formed at an appropriate position on the frame portion 100. As shown in FIG. The operation unit 10 also includes a light emitting unit 20 (not visible in FIG. 2), a reflecting member 40, a holding member 50 (not visible in FIG. 2), and a knob portion 60. As shown in FIG.

The light emitting unit 20 is a light source such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The light emitting section 20 is provided on the substrate 110 arranged inside the frame section 100 and emits light toward the reflecting member 40 and the holding member 50 . In other words, when the operation unit 10 is viewed from the front (when viewed in the negative direction from the positive side of the Y axis), the portion visible to the user is the front side. 50 and emits light toward the reflecting member 40 and the holding member 50 . Although FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example in which there are a plurality of light emitting units 20 (here, two), the number of light emitting units 20 is not limited to this, and may be one or three or more.

The reflecting member 40 is a member provided on the front side of the operation unit 10 . In other words, the reflecting member 40 is a member provided at a position that can be visually recognized by the user, and is formed in a disc shape, for example.

The reflecting member 40 can produce light with a sense of depth by reflecting the light from the light emitting section 20 inside the two reflecting surfaces that serve as a pair of mirrors. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the state of light (light emission mode) by the reflecting member 40. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the reflection principle of the reflecting member 40. As shown in FIG. 5 is a simplified perspective view of the reflecting member 40, and the lower part is a front view of the reflecting member 40. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the light from the light emitting unit 20 (see FIG. 4, etc.) is incident on the reflecting member 40, a circular A plurality of shaped lights L appear to be arranged concentrically in the depth direction. Specifically, the smaller the radius of the light beams L, the closer it is to the center of the reflecting member 40 when viewed from the front, and the more the light beams L appear to be positioned farther back from the rear surface of the reflecting member 40 . In other words, the plurality of lights L produce a sense of depth such that the space narrows stepwise toward the center when the reflecting member 40 is viewed from the front.

The plurality of lights L are arranged independently of the thickness of the reflecting member 40 . In other words, the plurality of lights L (virtual images of the lights L) give the user the illusion that a space exists on the far side beyond the thickness of the reflecting member 40 . Thus, the reflecting member 40 can produce the light L with a sense of depth. Here, the principle by which the plurality of lights L are visible will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the reflective member 40 has a first reflective surface 41 and a second reflective surface 42 that face each other with a light guide member 43 interposed therebetween like a pair of mirrors. Light is reflected between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 . Note that the user views the reflecting member 40 from the first reflecting surface 41 side.

Specifically, the first reflecting surface 41 is formed in a curved shape that curves toward the second reflecting surface 42 side. In other words, the first reflecting surface 41 is formed in a concave shape toward one side, which is the second reflecting surface 42 side.

The second reflecting surface 42 is formed in a flat shape (planar shape). The second reflecting surface 42 is formed with an incident portion 42a into which the light from the light emitting portion 20 is incident. Also, the second reflecting surface 42 is configured to have a lower light transmittance than the first reflecting surface 41 . In other words, the second reflecting surface 42 is configured to have a higher reflectance than the first reflecting surface 41 . As a result, light is mainly reflected on the second reflecting surface 42 . On the other hand, since the first reflecting surface 41 has a higher transmittance than the second reflecting surface 42, the light is reflected and partly transmitted and emitted as light L to the outside.

Furthermore, since the first reflecting surface 41 has a curved shape, the light incident from the incident portion 42a and reflected by the first reflecting surface 41 travels toward the center of the reflecting member 40 and reaches the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface. 42 will be repeatedly reflected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of lights L emitted to the outside gradually come closer to the center of the reflecting member 40 . In addition, the more central the light L is, the more times it is reflected by the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42. That is, according to the principle of the laminated mirror, the more central the light L is, the further the light L is positioned. It gives the illusion that it does. In other words, the light L has a light emitting mode with a sense of depth.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light enters from the incident part 42a formed at the end of the second reflecting surface 42. Therefore, the light immediately after incidence is actually reflected by the first reflecting surface 41. , once in the lateral direction of the reflecting member 40 . Since a side reflecting surface 44, which will be described later, is formed on the side surface of the reflecting member 40, the light traveling toward the side surface of the reflecting member 40 is reflected by the side reflecting surface 44, travels to the second reflecting surface 42, and travels to the second reflecting surface 42. , and repeatedly reflected between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 toward the center of the reflecting member 40 . In addition, since the knob portion 60 (see FIG. 4) is provided on the side surface of the reflecting member 40, the light does not leak from the side surface of the reflecting member 40 to the outside.

By the way, for example, when the operation unit 10 is a dial-type switch, the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved by allowing the user to visually recognize the current orientation of the operation unit 10 . That is, for example, if the operation unit 10 has a function of adjusting the volume of an audio device, and a position where the volume (for example, volume) is zero is set as a reference position, how much the operation unit 10 is currently rotated with respect to the reference position. Visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved by visually indicating the orientation of the operation unit 10, such as whether the operation unit 10 is on. Thereby, the user can easily adjust the volume via the operation unit 10 .

However, in the operation unit 10 having a light emission mode with a sense of depth as described above, for example, if the light L is circular, the current orientation of the operation unit 10 is difficult for the user to understand, and the visibility of the operation unit 10 is reduced. There was a risk of inviting

Although illustration is omitted, the design of the light L itself may be set so as to indicate the current orientation of the operation unit 10 to improve visibility. Specifically, the shape (circular here) of the incident portion 42a that determines the overall design of the light L, and the mark portion (for example, a circular shape) of the incident portion 42a that serves as a mark of the direction of the operation unit 10 It is conceivable to provide a portion where a part of the shape is protruded or notched. However, in this case, the images of the light L, including the shape of the mark portion, appear to overlap due to the principle of the matching mirror. That is, since the shape of the mark portion is included in all of the plurality of lights L in the reflecting member 40, there is a possibility that the design of the lights L may be restricted.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the visibility of the orientation of the operation unit 10 can be improved.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the first reflecting surface 41 of the reflecting member 40 is formed with an uneven portion 41a. More specifically, the concave-convex portion 41 a having the concave-convex shape is partially formed on the first reflecting surface 41 from which the light is emitted in the reflecting member 40 . In addition, in FIG. 6, for the convenience of understanding, the part where the concave-convex portion 41a is formed is indicated by enclosing it with a chain double-dashed line.

When the concave-convex portion 41a is formed in this way, the light emitted from the first reflecting surface 41 (more precisely, part of the light) is scattered (diffused) by passing through the concave-convex portion 41a. Hereinafter, the light scattered by the uneven portion 41a may be referred to as "scattered light Lx".

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the scattered light Lx described above makes it possible to partially highlight a predetermined portion on the first reflecting surface 41 of the reflecting member 40 (the operation unit 10). Become. Such a predetermined portion is a portion of the first reflecting surface 41 where the uneven portion 41a (see FIG. 6) is formed. Note that the example of FIG. 5 shows a light emission mode in which the scattered light Lx is included in the light L1 positioned on the outermost side in the front view of the reflecting member 40 among the plurality of circular lights L. As shown in FIG.

In this way, the scattered light Lx from the concave-convex portion 41a can make a part of the operation unit 10 stand out. Therefore, the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved.

As an example, if the operation unit 10 has a function of adjusting the volume with a dial switch, the user can confirm the position of the scattered light Lx with respect to the reference position where the volume is zero. Thereby, the user can visually grasp the orientation of the operation unit 10, such as how much the operation unit 10 is currently rotated with respect to the reference position, and thus can easily adjust the volume. can.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the direction of the operation unit 10 is indicated by the scattered light Lx from the uneven portion 41a. is not required to be set to indicate Therefore, there are no restrictions on the design of the light L as described above.

Next, the configuration of the reflecting member 40 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7 and the like. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the reflecting member 40. As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the thicknesses of the first and second reflecting surfaces 41 and 42, the side reflecting surface 44, the shape of the uneven portion 41a, and the like are exaggerated for ease of understanding.

As shown in FIG. 7, the reflecting member 40 includes the first reflecting surface 41, the second reflecting surface 42, the light guide member 43, and the side reflecting surface 44 described above.

First, the light guide member 43 will be described. The light guide member 43 is, for example, a transparent (or translucent) disc-shaped member, in other words, a lens. As the material of the light guide member 43, for example, a translucent material such as glass, organic glass, or polycarbonate can be used, but the material is not limited to these.

The light guide member 43 guides part of the light from the light emitting unit 20 (see FIG. 4) to the outside, or directs the light to the center while repeating reflection between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 . and guide light to Specifically, the light guide member 43 has two main surfaces 43a and 43b, a side surface 43c, and a collar portion 43d.

The main surface 43 a is a surface that is the front side of the operation unit 10 . Further, the main surface 43a can also be said to be an emission surface because light is emitted to the outside through the first reflecting surface 41 . The main surface 43a is formed in a curved shape that curves toward the main surface 43b, which is the surface opposite to the main surface 43a. In other words, the main surface 43a is formed concave.

The main surface 43b is a surface on the back side of the operation unit 10. As shown in FIG. Below, the main surface 43b may be described as the "back surface 43b." The back surface 43b can also be said to be an incident surface because light from the light emitting unit 20 (see FIG. 4) is incident through the incident unit 42a. The rear surface 43b is a surface facing a holding surface 51a of the holding member 50, which will be described later, and is formed in a flat shape (planar shape).

The side surface 43c is a surface continuous from the end (periphery) of the main surface 43a and the back surface 43b. The flange portion 43d is a portion that protrudes laterally (outward in the radial direction) from the vicinity of the back surface 43b of the side surface 43c. The reflecting member 40 including the light guide member 43 is fixed by sandwiching the flange portion 43d between the holding member 50 and the knob portion 60, which will be described later.

The first reflecting surface 41 is formed on the main surface 43 a of the light guide member 43 on the front side. As described above, since the main surface 43a of the light guide member 43 is curved toward the back surface 43b, the first reflecting surface 41 is also curved toward the back surface 43b. It is formed in a curved shape that curves toward the second reflecting surface 42 formed at 43b.

Specifically, the first reflecting surface 41 is a curved surface having a predetermined curvature. More specifically, the first reflecting surface 41 is configured such that the center portion is closest to the second reflecting surface 42 . In other words, the first reflecting surface 41 is a curved surface whose distance from the second reflecting surface 42 increases from the center toward the peripheral end. As a result, it is possible to produce a sense of depth, as if the reflection member 40 were viewed from the front, as if it were heading toward the center.

Also, the first reflecting surface 41 is a so-called half mirror. For example, the first reflecting surface 41 is a reflecting surface having a light transmittance equal to or higher than a predetermined light transmittance, and is configured such that the light reflectance is less than the predetermined reflectance. The first reflecting surface 41 is formed on the main surface 43a of the light guide member 43 by vapor deposition of the material of the first reflecting surface 41, for example. Although FIG. 7 and the like show an example in which the entire surface of the first reflecting surface 41 is curved, the first reflecting surface 41 may be a partially curved surface, or the entire surface may be formed flat. .

Further, the uneven portion 41a described above is formed on the first reflecting surface 41 . Here, the uneven portion 41a will be described with reference to FIG. 8 as well. FIG. 8 is a front view when the reflecting member 40 is viewed from the front surface (first reflecting surface 41 side).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first reflecting surface 41 is partially formed with an uneven portion 41a. In other words, part of the first reflecting surface 41 formed on the light guide member 43 of the reflecting member 40 is formed with the uneven portion 41a. Specifically, the uneven portion 41 a is formed at one location on the first reflecting surface 41 .

The uneven portion 41a is a portion (region) having an uneven shape. The concave-convex shape of the concave-convex portion 41a is, for example, a continuous concave-convex shape, more specifically, a shape in which a plurality of concave-convex portions are continuous. Further, the concave-convex shape is, for example, a shape capable of scattering (diffusing) transmitted light. Further, the concave-convex portion 41a is formed in, for example, a circular shape when the reflecting member 40 is viewed from the front.

In addition, although the uneven|corrugated|grooved part 41a is formed in one place in the example of FIG. 8 etc., it is not limited to this. That is, the uneven portion 41a may be formed at a plurality of locations, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. Further, the shape and area (size) of the uneven portion 41a in the front view of the reflecting member 40 shown in FIG. 8 are merely examples and are not limited.

In this way, when the concave-convex portion 41a is formed on the first reflecting surface 41, of the light emitted from the first reflecting surface 41, the light that passes through the concave-convex portion 41a is scattered (diffused). , resulting in scattered light Lx (see FIG. 5).

In this embodiment, the scattered light Lx (see FIG. 5) caused by the uneven portion 41a can make a part of the operation unit 10 stand out. etc. can be visually recognized by the user, and the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved.

To explain in detail the position where the uneven portion 41a is formed, the uneven portion 41a is formed on the first reflecting surface 41 at a position where light is emitted. Specifically, in the reflecting member 40 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, light is emitted from the first reflecting surface 41 and a plurality of lights L having a sense of depth can be seen.

In the present embodiment, the uneven portion 41a is formed at a position where the light L can be seen, that is, at a position where the light L is emitted. Note that FIG. 8 shows an example in which the uneven portion 41a is formed at a position corresponding to the light L1 on the outermost side of the reflecting member 40 when viewed from the front, in other words, at a position where the light L1 is emitted.

In this way, since the concave-convex portion 41a is formed at the position from which light is emitted, the light passing through the concave-convex portion 41a is reliably scattered. Therefore, a part of the operation unit 10 can be made conspicuous by the scattered light Lx (see FIGS. 5 and 7) by the uneven portion 41a, and the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be further improved.

Although FIG. 8 shows an example in which the uneven portion 41a is formed at the position where the light L1 is emitted, the present invention is not limited to this. Concavo-convex portion 41a may be formed at the position from which is emitted.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the uneven portion 41a is formed on the second reflecting surface 42 at a position facing the position where the light from the light emitting portion 20 (see FIG. 4) is incident. Specifically, the concave-convex portion 41a is formed on the first reflecting surface 41 at a position facing the incident portion 42a, which is the position where the light is incident on the second reflecting surface 42 . In addition, in FIG. 8, for convenience of understanding, the incident portion 42a formed on the second reflecting surface 42 is indicated by imaginary lines.

Thereby, the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be further improved. That is, for example, among the plurality of lights L emitted from the first reflecting surface 41, the light L1 that has entered from the incident portion 42a and is directly emitted without being reflected within the reflecting member 40 is the brightest. Note that the plurality of lights L become darker toward the center due to the principle of a mirror reflecting inside the reflecting member 40. More specifically, the lights L2, L3, and L4 become darker in this order.

In the present embodiment, since the uneven portion 41a is formed at a position facing the incident portion 42a, part of the relatively bright light L1 is scattered and becomes scattered light Lx (see FIGS. 5, 7, etc.). A part of the relatively bright light L1 can be made conspicuous in the operation unit 10, and the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be further improved.

In the above, the positions where the uneven portions 41a are formed are specifically shown, but this is only an example and is not limited, and the positions where the uneven portions 41a are formed can be set arbitrarily. It is possible.

The uneven portion 41a described above may be formed, for example, by physical processing such as sandblasting, or may be formed by chemical processing such as chemical etching.

As another method for forming the uneven portion 41a, for example, when the light guide member 43 is manufactured by molding or the like, an uneven shape is formed on a part of the main surface 43a. Then, the vapor deposition process described above is performed on the main surface 43a including the uneven shape to form the first reflecting surface 41. As shown in FIG. Accordingly, the first reflecting surface 41 may also have an uneven shape at a position corresponding to the uneven shape of the main surface 43a, thereby forming the uneven portion 41a. As another method, a layer having an uneven shape (uneven layer) may be added to the surface of the first reflecting surface 41 by printing, painting, or the like, thereby forming the uneven portion 41a. Thus, the uneven portion 41a according to this embodiment can be formed by any method.

The description of FIG. 7 is continued. The second reflecting surface 42 is formed on the rear surface 43b (the main surface 43b on the rear side) of the light guide member 43 . As described above, since the back surface 43b of the light guide member 43 is flat, the second reflecting surface 42 is also formed flat.

Also, the second reflecting surface 42 is a so-called total reflection mirror (full mirror). For example, the second reflecting surface 42 is a reflecting surface having a light transmittance less than a predetermined transmittance, and is configured to have a light reflectance equal to or higher than the predetermined reflectance. Note that the predetermined transmittance and the predetermined reflectance described above can be set to arbitrary values according to various conditions such as the mode of light emission. Also, the second reflecting surface 42 is formed on the rear surface 43b of the light guide member 43 by vapor deposition of the material of the second reflecting surface 42, for example.

Thus, the second reflecting surface 42 is configured to have a lower transmittance than the first reflecting surface 41 and a higher reflectance than the first reflecting surface 41 . Conversely, the first reflecting surface 41 is configured to have a higher transmittance than the second reflecting surface 42 and a lower reflectance than the second reflecting surface 42 .

The incident portion 42a is formed on the second reflecting surface 42 as described above. Here, the incident portion 42a will be described with reference to FIG. 9 as well. FIG. 9 is a rear view when the reflecting member 40 is viewed from the back side (second reflecting surface 42 side).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the incident portion 42a is a portion on which the light from the light emitting portion 20 (see arrow A in FIG. 7) is incident. For example, the incident part 42a is formed to have a circular shape along the periphery of the disk-shaped light guide member 43 . Note that the shape of the incident portion 42a described above is merely an example and is not limited, and other shapes such as a dot shape and an arc shape may be used.

The incident portion 42a is formed by partially cutting the second reflecting surface 42, which is a total reflecting mirror, using laser cutting, for example. Therefore, it can be said that the incident part 42a is a part of the back surface 43b of the light guide member 43 where the second reflecting surface 42 does not exist.

In the above description, the incident portion 42a is formed by cutting the second reflecting surface 42, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the incident portion 42a may be formed by other methods such as masking or configuring the second reflecting surface 42 such that the transmittance of the portion of the second reflecting surface 42 where light is incident is higher than that of other portions. Further, the incident portion 42a may be subjected to a process (for example, a solid white printing process) for suppressing unevenness of incident light.

In the above description, the second reflecting surface 42 is formed on the rear surface 43b of the light guide member 43. However, the second reflecting surface 42 is not limited to this. may

The side reflection surface 44 is formed on the side surface 43c of the light guide member 43, as shown in FIG. The side reflecting surface 44 is a half mirror similar to the first reflecting surface 41 . For example, the side reflecting surface 44 is a reflecting surface having a light transmittance equal to or higher than a predetermined transmittance, and is configured so that the light reflectance is less than the predetermined reflectance.

Since the side reflecting surface 44 is a half mirror similar to the first reflecting surface 41, the side reflecting surface 44 is formed by the same process as the vapor deposition process for forming the first reflecting surface 41. It is not limited. Further, the side reflecting surface 44 and the first reflecting surface 41 may be configured to have different values of light transmittance and reflectance.

Although the side reflecting surface 44 is a half mirror in the above description, it is not limited to this, and may be a total reflecting mirror (full mirror), for example. That is, the side reflecting surface 44 may be a reflecting surface having a light transmittance less than a predetermined transmittance, or may be a total reflection mirror having a light reflectance equal to or higher than the predetermined reflectance.

In the light guide member 43 in which the first reflecting surface 41, the second reflecting surface 42, and the side reflecting surface 44 are formed, when the light from the light emitting unit 20 is incident from the incident portion 42a, the first reflecting surface The light is guided to the center while being repeatedly reflected between 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 (see FIG. 6). In other words, the light guide member 43 guides light toward a position where the distance between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 is short. Accordingly, light can be guided between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 with high accuracy. As described above with reference to FIG. 6, light immediately after being incident from the incident portion 42a is reflected in the order of the first reflecting surface 41 and the side reflecting surface 44, then travels toward the second reflecting surface 42, and thereafter travels toward the first reflecting surface. The light is repeatedly reflected between 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 .

Then, in the process of repeating reflection between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42, the light guide member 43 guides part of the light to the outside from the first reflecting surface 41, which is a half mirror, and emits the light. do. As a result, when the reflecting member 40 is viewed from the front, the lighting mode can be such that it creates a sense of depth.

Further, of the light L emitted from the first reflecting surface 41 to the outside, the light that passes through the uneven portion 41a is scattered as described above (that is, becomes scattered light Lx). On the other hand, of the light L emitted from the first reflecting surface 41 to the outside, the light that does not pass through the uneven portion 41a is emitted as it is without being scattered.

The holding member 50 is a member that holds the reflecting member 40, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the holding member 50 is arranged between the light emitting section 20 and the reflecting member 40 to hold the reflecting member 40 .

Specifically, the holding member 50 is, for example, a transparent (or translucent) substantially disk-shaped member. As the material of the holding member 50, for example, a translucent material such as polycarbonate can be used, but the material is not limited to this. In other words, the material of the holding member 50 may be other kinds of materials as long as they are translucent, such as acrylic having a transparent rubber component, glass, or organic glass.

Thus, the holding member 50 is configured to have translucency. Therefore, the holding member 50 guides and transmits the light from the light emitting unit 20, and emits the light to the reflecting member 40 including the light guide member 43 (see arrow A in FIG. 7).

More specifically, the holding member 50 includes a holding portion 51 , side wall portions 52 and locking portions 53 . The holding portion 51 has a holding surface 51a and is formed in a substantially disc shape. The holding surface 51 a is a surface that holds the reflecting member 40 . The holding surface 51a is a surface facing the back surface 43b of the light guide member 43 (more specifically, the second reflecting surface 42 of the reflecting member 40 (see FIG. 7)), and is formed flat (see FIG. 3).

The side wall portion 52 is formed continuously from the end portion (peripheral portion) of the holding portion 51 and is formed so as to extend in the direction toward the back side of the operation portion 10 (Y-axis negative direction). A locking portion 53 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 52 a of the side wall portion 52 .

For example, a plurality of (for example, two) locking portions 53 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 52 a of the side wall portion 52 . The locking portion 53 is a projection that protrudes laterally (outward in the radial direction) from the outer peripheral surface 52a of the side wall portion 52, and is configured to be capable of locking into a locking hole 62b of the knob portion 60, which will be described later. .

In the above description, the number of locking portions 53 and the like are specifically shown, but this is merely an example and is not limited. It is possible.

Although not shown, the holding member 50 is connected to a detection sensor that detects user's operation on the operation unit 10 . As the detection sensor, a rotary encoder that detects a user's rotation operation (specifically, the amount of rotation, the rotation position, etc. of the knob portion 60) with respect to the operation portion 10 (for example, the knob portion 60) can be used, but is limited to this. not a thing

The knob part 60 is a part operated by a user, more specifically a part to be rotated, and is formed in an annular shape. Specifically, the knob portion 60 includes an annular portion 61 and a side wall portion 62 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the like.

The annular portion 61 has a circular opening 61a, and the reflecting member 40 is positioned in the opening 61a. More precisely, as shown in FIG. 7, the light guide member 43 of the reflecting member 40 is positioned in the opening 61a of the annular portion 61. As shown in FIG. At this time, the reflecting member 40 is positioned such that the side surface 43 c and the side reflecting surface 44 of the light guide member 43 correspond to (face to) the inner peripheral surface of the annular portion 61 . By arranging the knob portion 60 on the side surface of the reflecting member 40 in this manner, light does not leak from the side surface of the reflecting member 40 to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the side wall portion 62 is formed continuously from the outer end portion (peripheral edge portion) of the annular portion 61 and extends in the direction toward the back side of the operation portion 10 (Y-axis negative direction). formed in

Locking holes 62b are formed in the inner peripheral surface 62a of the side wall portion 62 at positions corresponding to the locking portions 53 of the holding member 50 described above. The knob portion 60 and the holding member 50 are connected by locking the locking portion 53 of the holding member 50 in the locking hole 62b of the knob portion 60 . Accordingly, when the knob portion 60 is rotated by the user, for example, the knob portion 60 and the holding member 50 rotate together.

Further, the knob portion 60 and the holding member 50 fix the reflecting member 40 in a state where the knob portion 60 and the holding member 50 are connected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when the knob portion 60 and the holding member 50 are connected, the light guide member 43 ( The flange portion 43d of the reflecting member 40) is sandwiched, and thereby the reflecting member 40 is fixed.

In the connected holding member 50 and knob portion 60, as shown in FIG. (see FIG. 3).

As a result, the opening 100a of the frame portion 100 is covered with the holding member 50 or the like, so that, for example, the substrate 110 and the light emitting portion 20 arranged inside the frame portion 100 cannot be seen from the outside. can be done.

As described above, the operating device 1 according to the embodiment includes the operating section 10 and the uneven section 41a. The operation unit 10 includes a light emitting unit 20, a first reflecting surface 41, and a second reflecting surface 42 formed at a position facing the first reflecting surface 41 and having a lower light transmittance than the first reflecting surface 41. light is reflected between the first reflecting surface 41 and the second reflecting surface 42 and emitted from the first reflecting surface 41 . The uneven portion 41a is partially formed on the first reflecting surface 41 and has an uneven shape. Thereby, the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved in the operation device 1 .

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the operation unit 10 receives a rotation operation for adjusting the volume or the like of an audio device that is an in-vehicle device, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the operation unit 10 may receive a rotation operation for operating other types of functions in the in-vehicle device, such as a rotation operation for adjusting the air volume or temperature of an air conditioner.

Further, the operation received by the operation unit 10 is not limited to the rotation operation described above. That is, the operation unit 10 is provided with a detection sensor that detects a pressing operation (push operation), for example, so that the operation unit 10 functions as a push-down switch. Accordingly, the operation unit 10 may be configured to receive other types of operations, such as accepting user's pressing operations.

<Modification>
Next, a modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a reflecting member 40 according to a modification. Note that FIG. 10 is a front view of the reflecting member 40 according to the modified example when viewed from the front surface (first reflecting surface 41 side). FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the state of light (light emission mode) by the reflecting member 40 according to the modification. Moreover, in the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the configurations common to the embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the modified example, uneven portions 41 a are formed at a plurality of locations on the first reflecting surface 41 . As a result, for example, the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved, and the design of the light L emitted from the reflecting member 40 can also be improved.

Specifically, the uneven portions 41 a are formed at, for example, six locations on the first reflecting surface 41 . As an example, on the first reflecting surface 41, the uneven portions 41a are formed at two positions where the light L1 is emitted, two positions where the light L2 is emitted, and two positions where the light L3 is emitted. . Further, the uneven portion 41a is not formed on the first reflecting surface 41 at the position where the light L4 is emitted.

Hereinafter, the uneven portion 41a at the position from which the light L1 is emitted is referred to as the "first uneven portion 41a1", the uneven portion 41a at the position from which the light L2 is emitted is referred to as the "second uneven portion 41a2", and the unevenness at the position from which the light L3 is emitted. Although the portion 41a may be referred to as the "third uneven portion 41a3", it will be referred to as the "uneven portion 41a" when the description is made without distinguishing between them.

The first concave-convex portions 41a1 are formed at predetermined intervals (here, 180-degree intervals) around the central point B of the plurality of circular lights L. As shown in FIG. The second concave-convex portions 41a2 are formed at predetermined intervals (in this case, 180-degree intervals) around the center point B, and are formed at positions displaced in the circumferential direction from the outer first concave-convex portions 41a1. The third concave-convex portions 41a3 are formed at predetermined intervals (here, 180-degree intervals) around the center point B. As shown in FIG. The third concave-convex portion 41a3 is formed at a position displaced in the circumferential direction from the second concave-convex portion 41a2 on the outer side, and is formed at a position corresponding to the first concave-convex portion 41a1 in the circumferential direction.

In the reflecting member 40 according to the modified example, the first, second, and third concave-convex portions 41a1, 41a2, and 41a3 are formed at the positions described above. In L, a plurality of scattered lights Lx are included. In FIG. 11, the scattered light Lx1 is the scattered light corresponding to the first concave-convex portion 41a1, that is, the light scattered after passing through the first concave-convex portion 41a1. Similarly, scattered light Lx2 is scattered light corresponding to the second uneven portion 41a2, and scattered light Lx3 is scattered light corresponding to the third uneven portion 41a3.

Specifically, the reflecting member 40 according to the modified example emits light in which two scattered lights Lx1 are included in the light L1. Further, the reflecting member 40 according to the modified example emits light in which the light L2 includes two scattered lights Lx2 and the light L3 includes two scattered lights Lx3.

As described above, in the modified example, the scattered lights Lx1, Lx2, and Lx3 by the first, second, and third uneven portions 41a1, 41a2, and 41a3 can make a part of the operation unit 10 stand out. Therefore, for example, the current orientation of the operation unit 10 can be visually recognized by the user, and the visibility of the operation unit 10 can be improved.

Furthermore, in the modified example, the shape (here, circular shape) of the incident portion 42a that determines the overall design of the light L is determined by the uneven portions 41a formed at a plurality of locations. It is possible to make a design that cannot be realized only by changing it.

That is, for example, if the shape of the incident portion 42a is changed, all of the lights L1 to L4 will have a light emitting mode corresponding to the changed incident portion 42a. On the other hand, in the modified example, by forming the uneven portions 41a at a plurality of locations, it is possible to individually set the design of the lights L1 to L4 using a plurality of scattered lights Lx. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the light (lights L1 to L4) emitted from the reflecting member 40 increases, and the design of the light L can be improved.

10 and 11 specifically show the number and positions of the irregularities 41a according to the modification, but this is merely an example and is not limited, and the number of the irregularities 41a , formation position, etc. can be arbitrarily set.

Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments so shown and described. Accordingly, various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

1 Operating Device 10 Operating Part 20 Light Emitting Part 40 Reflecting Member 41 First Reflecting Surface 41a Concavo-convex Part 42 Second Reflecting Surface 43 Light Guide Member

Claims (4)

a light-emitting portion, a first reflecting surface, and a second reflecting surface formed at a position facing the first reflecting surface and having a lower light transmittance than the first reflecting surface; and a reflecting member that reflects between the second reflecting surface and emits from the first reflecting surface;
An operating device, comprising: an uneven portion having an uneven shape partially formed on the first reflecting surface. The uneven portion is
2. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein said first reflecting surface is formed at a position where light is emitted. The uneven portion is
The operating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second reflecting surface is formed at a position facing a position where light from the light emitting section is incident. The uneven portion is
The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is formed at a plurality of locations on the first reflecting surface.

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