JP2541578Y2 - Manual operation button - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention incorporates an operation button, particularly a switch having a light emitting section, and enables an actuator of the switch to be operated by an operation section provided on an operation panel, and the light from the light emitting section is used for the operation. The present invention relates to an operation button of an operation panel which is scattered in a section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of operation units are provided on an operation panel of a device. In recent years, those having a light emitting function in the operation unit have become widespread. In this type of operation mechanism, a switch having a light-emitting unit is provided on an electronic board built in the operation panel, and an actuator made of a translucent material in which an actuator of the switch is mounted on a surface plate of the operation panel. With a configuration that operates on and off by a button,
The operation button is made of a translucent body, so that light from the light emitting portion of the switch is scattered by the operation button. Therefore, even if it is installed in a dark place,
It is easy to determine which operation button has been operated.

However, when the operation button is large, that is, when the operation plane is large and the light source of the light emitting unit provided in the switch is small, the light source is required to emit light over the entire surface of the operation button. It is necessary to secure the distance between the operation button and the light emitting unit to such an extent that the size of the cross section of the light beam from the light source substantially matches the cross section of the operation button. Therefore,
Under the above-mentioned conditions, the distance between the mounting surface of the operation buttons and the switch becomes unnecessarily large, and the operation panel becomes large accordingly.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a point. "The operation button provided so as to be exposed on the surface of the operation panel is opposed to the actuator of the switch built in the operation panel. Is an operation button provided with a light emitting unit that emits light in a switch conducting state and scatters light from the light emitting unit on the surface of the operation button, '' when the operation button is large and the luminous flux from the light emitting unit is small. It is an object of the present invention to provide a scattered light emission state for a wide range of operation buttons even if there is.

[0005]

[Technical Means] The technical means of the present invention taken to solve the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
A main button 1a which is exposed from the front plate 21 and is pressed against the front plate 21 and an auxiliary button 1b as a convex lens which comes into contact with the rear surface and is urged toward the main button. The back surface of 1b was opposed to and close to the actuator 31 of the switch 3 built in the operation panel 2, the focus of the auxiliary button 1b was made to substantially coincide with the position of the light emitting portion, and the main button 1a was made of a translucent body. ] That is.

[0006]

The above technical means of the present invention operates as follows. When the main button 1a is depressed, the auxiliary button 1b, which is in contact with the back surface of the main button 1a, is pressed against the biasing force acting on the main button 1a, and the back surface of the auxiliary button 1b activates the actuator 31 of the switch 3 built in the operation panel 2. Push in. As a result, the switch 3 is turned on, and the light emitting unit provided therein is turned on.

When the pressing operation is released, the main button 1a returns to the original position together with the auxiliary button 1b by the return urging force applied to the auxiliary button 1b. The auxiliary button 1b is a convex lens, and its focal point is substantially coincident with the light emitting portion provided in the switch, so that the luminous flux emitted from this light emitting portion is substantially parallel after passing through the auxiliary button 1b. Most of the light emitted from the light emitting portion reaches the main button 1a side. The light beam entering the main button 1a passes through the main button 1a made of a translucent body and is scattered on the surface. As a result, the entire surface of the main button 1a is turned on.

[0008]

[Effect] Since the present invention has the above configuration, it has the following unique effects. Since the focal length is extremely short and the auxiliary button 1b provided close to the actuator 31 causes the light beam from the light emitting portion to be appropriately converged to the main button 1a side, and then scattered by the translucent seed button 1a, Even if the distance between the main button and the light emitting section is short, the entire surface of the large main button 1a can be made to emit light, and the operation panel can be downsized.

[0009] Most of the light from the light emitting section is the main button 1a.
Therefore, the brightness of the main button is sufficient.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 2 of the embodiment has a plurality of operation buttons 1 and 1, and the front plate 21 has a number of through holes corresponding to the number of the operation buttons 1 and 1. 22, 22 are formed. The through hole 22 is formed as a through hole having an enlarged hole 23 on the back surface.

Each of the through holes 22 accommodates a main button 1a having a flange 13 projecting from the back surface. At this time, the flange 13 is housed in the enlarged hole 23. The back surface of the main button 1a has a convex lens shape in which the inner peripheral area of the flange 13 is a gentle spherical shape convex downward, and the spherical portion and the flange
The boundary with 13 is a tapered surface T that expands downward.

The plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b, 1b of this embodiment
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connected body S is integrally formed into a plate shape as a whole, and is entirely made of translucent silicone resin, and has flexibility and elasticity. And this connection body S is integrally formed by injection molding or the like. Accordingly, the annular seal portions 12, 12 provided continuously on the outer peripheral area of each auxiliary button 1b are connected by the connecting piece 14, and each auxiliary button 1b has a substantially conical back surface as shown in FIG. The convex lens has a gentle spherical surface, and the substantially conical top cross-section of the rear surface has an arc shape. Therefore, the focal length of the convex lens as the auxiliary button is extremely short, and the focal point on the back side of the auxiliary button 1b is near the conical top. An annular extension 15 is formed on the periphery of the auxiliary button 1b, and the upper surface of the annular extension 15 and the center of the spherical portion of the surface of the auxiliary button 1b are set to be located on the same plane. .

The annular thin portion 11 is formed in a tapered shape extending downward from the peripheral edge of the annular extension portion 15, and an annular seal portion 12 is connected to the peripheral edge. Therefore, there is a certain height difference between the upper surface of the annular seal portion 12 and the upper surface of the annular extension portion 15. In addition, the inner diameter of the annular extension 15 and that of the flange 13 match. Main button 1a with the above configuration
The auxiliary button 1b is mounted on the surface plate 21 of the operation panel 2, but in this embodiment, the main button 1a is accommodated in each through hole 22,
The connecting body S, in which a plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b, 1b are connected, is
Attached to the back of.

For this reason, a mounting plate 4 as shown in FIG. 4 is employed. The mounting plate 4 has a pressing portion 42 which abuts against the annular seal portion 12 to press and fix it, as shown in FIG.
It is a plate-like body having 41, 41 and is screwed to the back surface of the front plate 21 at a plurality of places. Therefore, the through holes or cutouts for screwing are formed in the connecting body S. Operation panel 2
The electronic board 30 is housed in a casing formed by a dish-shaped front plate 21 opened downward and a dish-shaped back plate 24 opened upward, and the surface of the electronic board 30 is provided with an LED or the like. A plurality of switches 3, 3 with a light emitting part 32 are each auxiliary button
It is arranged at a position facing 1b. The position of the light emitting section 32 and the position of the focal point of the convex lens serving as the auxiliary button 1b substantially coincide with each other.

In the operation panel 2 having the above configuration, the electronic board 30 is mounted on the back plate 24 in a state where the front plate 21 and the back plate 24 are separated. On the other hand, when the main button 1a is accommodated in each through hole 22 of the front plate 21 and a connecting member S is attached from the back surface thereof and the connecting member S is attached to the front plate 21 by the mounting plate 4, each auxiliary button 1b The peripheral member is fixed in a state where the through hole 22 is closed. In this state, the annular seal portion 12 is in close contact with the back surface of the front plate 21. The auxiliary button 1b protrudes from each opening 41 of the mounting plate 4.

At this time, since there is a height difference between the upper surface of the annular seal portion 12 and the upper surface of the annular extension portion 15, the annular thin portion 11 is mounted in a compressed state. An urging force is acting. Since the diameter of the flange 13 matches that of the annular extension 15, FIG.
The upper surface of the flange 13 is set to be in contact with the upper wall of the enlarged hole 23 as shown in FIG. That is, the main button 1a is lifted upward by the urging force corresponding to the elastic force of the annular thin portion 11.

The surface plate 21 on which the connecting body S is mounted as described above.
The operation panel 2 is completed by covering the back panel 24 equipped with the electronic board 30 with the two and joining them. At this time, as shown in the figure, the conical top of the back surface of the auxiliary button 1b is set so as to be opposed to and close to the actuator 31 of the switch 3, and when the main button 1a is depressed, the conical shape of the auxiliary button 1b interlocks with The state top pushes the actuator 31 and the light emitting part 32 is turned on, which means that the switch is operated.

In this case, the main button 1a is made of a translucent body made of a hard material made of acrylic resin, and its front and back surfaces are subjected to graining. Also, an auxiliary button
1b is a translucent body. Therefore, light from the light emitting portion 32 of the switch 3 is uniformly scattered over the entire exposed portion of the main button 1a. Operation button 1 is main button 1a and auxiliary button
1b, and both are convex lens-shaped, so that light from the light emitting part of the switch 3 can be efficiently used as the main button 1a.
, The brightness of the scattered light of the main button 1a is also sufficient.

In this embodiment, since the inner peripheral area of the flange 13 has a tapered surface T, light passing through the convex lens-shaped auxiliary button 1b is transmitted to the outer peripheral surface of the body of the main button 1a. Thus, shadows are less likely to occur at the peripheral edge of the surface of the main button 1a. Furthermore, since the back surface of the main button 1a and the upper surface of the auxiliary button 1b are in a state where the convex portions are in contact with each other, even if the main button 1a is pressed on the upper surface of the auxiliary button 1b made of a flexible material, the main button 1a There is no fear that the button will be attracted to the upper surface of the auxiliary button 1b, and smooth operation is ensured.

The height difference between the two ends of the cross section of the annular thin portion 11 when the operation button 1 is mounted on the surface plate 21 is a predetermined value in relation to the operation stroke of the operation button 1 for operating the switch 3. Is set to
Even when 1 is pushed in, the inner peripheral edge of the annular thin portion 11 is located above the outer peripheral edge. Therefore, when the operation force of the operation button 1 is released, the main button 1a overlapping the auxiliary button 1b of the auxiliary button 1b made of an elastic material is automatically returned to the initial position by the return urging force of the annular thin portion 11.

Since the auxiliary button 1b has flexibility even when the main button 1a is pushed over a predetermined stroke, the switch 3
Do not put too much burden on In the above embodiment, the entire main button 1a is made of a translucent body. However, the surface of the main button made of a transparent body may be subjected to a graining process to be made translucent. Further, the auxiliary button 1b may be a transparent body.

If both the main button 1a and the auxiliary button 1b are translucent, the scattering of light from the surface of the main button is made uniform, and unevenness of the scattered light hardly occurs. In addition, as a method of urging the auxiliary button 1b toward the single principal side, a method of interposing a coil spring between the auxiliary button and the electronic board or the like can be adopted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an operation panel 2.

FIG. 2 shows a connected body S having a plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b, 1b.
Top view of

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connector S;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the mounting plate 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Operation buttons 2 ... Operation panel 21 ... Surface plate 1a ... Main button 1b ... Auxiliary buttons 3 ... Switch 31 ... Actuator

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An operation button provided to be exposed on a surface of an operation panel is opposed to an actuator of a switch built in the operation panel, and the switch includes a light emitting unit that emits light when a switch is in a conductive state. In the operation button in which the light from the light emitting unit is scattered on the operation button surface, the operation button 1 is
A main button 1a which is exposed from the front plate 21 and is pressed against the front plate 21 and an auxiliary button 1b as a convex lens which comes into contact with the rear surface and is urged toward the main button. The back surface of 1b was opposed to and close to the actuator 31 of the switch 3 built in the operation panel 2, the focus of the auxiliary button 1b was made to substantially coincide with the position of the light emitting portion, and the main button 1a was made of a translucent body. Manual operation button.