JP3140367B2 - Button lighting structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illumination structure of a button illuminated by a light source provided to illuminate a button arranged on a front surface of an electronic device or the like from a back side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional button illumination structure will be described with reference to FIG. 3A and 3B show a conventional button illumination structure, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC. Reference numeral 70 denotes a push button incorporated in an operation unit or the like on the front of an electronic device or the like. On the upper surface 71 of the push button 70, there are character display portions 75 and 76, and characters and symbols representing functions are displayed. Further, a push portion (not shown) for pushing a switch is formed on the back surface. Push button 7
Reference numeral 0 denotes a structure for illuminating the display contents (characters and symbols) from the back surface of the push button 70 so as to make the display contents stand out or as a part of the design to make the display contents stand out. However, the position of the light source 81 for illumination is deviated from the character display portion of the push button 70 due to design reasons or the like, for example, the light source 81 is located immediately below the character display portion 75.
Is provided, the characters on the character display portion 75 are brighter than the characters on the character display portion 76, and a luminance difference occurs between the two characters. Therefore, the thickness 72 below the character display portion 75 is increased. The luminance is reduced by blocking the transmission of light so as to match the luminance of the character in the character display section 76 distant from the light source 81.

The push button 70 is formed of a light transmissive (or translucent light such as milky white) resin (for example, an acrylic resin), and characters and symbols are printed on an upper surface 71 thereof. Push button 7
When the number 0 is illuminated by the illumination light from the back surface, the entire push button 70 becomes bright, so that the printed characters and symbols appear to rise. Reference numeral 80 denotes an operation board incorporated in the front surface, on which a light source (LED) 81 for illumination of the push button 70, a push button switch (not shown), and other electronic components are mounted. The substrate 80 is formed below the push button 70. The substrate 80
As the device becomes thinner or smaller, a film-like flexible substrate or the like is used.

[0004] Reference numeral 90 denotes a front surface of the device, which is formed with a hole 91 with which the push button 70 is engaged, an operation knob, a mounting portion for mounting a display portion, and the like.

[0005]

However, in the above-described button illumination structure, the thickness of the back of the character display portion 75 having the higher luminance is increased to reduce the unevenness of the illumination of the button, and the luminance of the lower portion is reduced. In this case, the brightness of the character display unit 76 is close to the brightness of the other character display unit 76. Therefore, when a chip type LED or the like having a small light amount is used, there is a problem that the brightness of the entire character display unit is reduced.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a button illumination structure that efficiently guides light from a light source and has less illumination unevenness.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention achieves the above-mentioned object and comprises a light-transmissive button having a plurality of character display portions, and a light-transmitting button provided to illuminate light from the back side of the button. In a lighting structure of a button including a light source, the character display portions are different in distance from the light source, and the light from the light source is dispersed into transmitted light and reflected light on the back surface of the button. The character display unit is characterized in that an inclined portion is formed such that light is evenly applied to each of the character display portions.

[0008] Further, the present invention is characterized in that the inclination of the inclined portion is set so that light is uniformly applied to each of the character display portions. Further, the surface condition of the inclined portion is such that light is uniformly applied to each of the character display portions.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing a lighting structure of a button according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1
0 is a push button incorporated in an operation unit or the like on the front of an electronic device or the like,
Character display sections 14 and 15 are provided on the upper surface 11 of the push button 10 to display characters and symbols representing functions. Further, a push portion (not shown) for pushing a switch is formed on the back surface. The push button 10 has a structure for illuminating the display content (characters and symbols) from the back surface of the push button 10 so as to make the display content (characters and symbols) easy to see or as part of the design. However, when the position of the light source 21 of the illumination is deviated from the character display portion of the push button 10 due to design reasons or the like, for example, provided immediately below the character display portion 14, the characters of the character display portion 14 are displayed as characters. It becomes brighter than the characters in the part 15 and a luminance difference occurs between the two characters.

Therefore, the inclined portion 1 is provided below the character display portion 14.
2, the light is reflected by the inclined portion 12 to be dispersed, and the amount of light transmitted to the character display portion 14 is adjusted.
Light reflected from the light source 21 on the surface of the light source 2 and the light source 21
Character display unit 1 distant from light source 21
5, the illumination light amount is increased to increase the brightness of the character, and the character display unit 1
The luminance difference between the character No. 4 and the character on the character display unit 15 is eliminated.

In order to adjust the amount of light emitted to the character display unit 14 and the character display unit 15, the inclination angle θ of the inclination unit 12 is adjusted.
This is done by adjusting. When the inclination angle θ is increased from the start point p on the inclined portion 12 as a starting point, the amount of light transmitted to the character display portion 14 increases, the reflected light on the surface of the inclined portion 12 decreases, and the light irradiation of the character display portion 15 is performed. The amount of light decreases. Further, the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light also change depending on the roughness of the surface of the inclined portion 12. Therefore, by adjusting the inclination angle θ and the roughness of the surface of the inclined portion 12, the luminance difference between the characters on the character display portion 14 and the characters on the character display portion 15 can be adjusted.

The push button 10 is formed of a light-transmissive (or translucent light such as milky white) resin (for example, an acrylic resin), and characters and symbols are printed on the upper surface 71. Push button 1
When the number 0 is illuminated by the illumination light from the back surface, the entire push button 10 becomes bright, so that the printed characters and symbols appear to rise. In addition, the push button 10 is formed of a light-transmitting resin and is coated with, for example, black so that light does not pass through the surface, and the painted portion on the upper surface of the push button is removed by laser cutting or the like to form letters and symbols. Or a two-color molding process or the like in which the surface of the light-transmitting resin is molded with a resin that does not transmit light so as to surround the portion excluding the character and symbol portions.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an operation board incorporated in the front surface, on which a light source (LED) 21 for illuminating the push button 10, a push button switch, and other electronic components (not shown) are mounted. The substrate 20 is formed below the push button 10.
As the substrate 20, a film-shaped flexible substrate or the like is used as the device becomes thinner or smaller. Reference numeral 30 denotes a front surface of the device, in which a hole 31 with which the push button 10 is engaged, an operation knob, a mounting portion for mounting a display portion, and the like are formed.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Even if the illumination light source is located at a position distant from the character display unit, the character display unit can be efficiently illuminated without loss of light by adjusting the gradient θ of the inclined unit 12.
Therefore, even when a light source such as a chip-type LED having a small light amount is used, the loss of light can be reduced, and the display portion over a wide area can be uniformly irradiated.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a lighting structure of a button according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG. In the second embodiment, a part of the first embodiment is changed, and the others are substantially the same as the first embodiment.
The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

When the position of the light source (LED) 21 for illumination is deviated from the character display portion of the push button 10, for example, at the position farthest from the character display portion 16, the push button 10 is provided due to design reasons or the like. In this case, the illumination light hardly reaches the character display unit 16, the illumination efficiency is deteriorated, and the luminance of the character display unit 16 is reduced. Therefore, the inclined portion 13 is provided above the light source 21 and the gradient θ of the inclined portion 13 is set so that the incident angle α of the light from the light source 21 is equal to or larger than the total reflection angle, or the surface of the inclined portion 13 is By setting the mirror surface, the light from the light source 21 is totally reflected by the inclined portion 13, and the amount of light transmitted directly above the light source 21 that does not require illumination is suppressed. And the light that reaches the character display unit 16 directly from the light source 21,
It is possible to increase the illuminating light amount of the character display unit 16 distant from the light source 21 to increase the luminance of the character.

As described above, also in this embodiment,
As in the first embodiment, even if the light source for illumination is located at a position distant from the character display unit, the inclination θ of the inclined portion
By setting the angle of incidence α of the light from the light source to be equal to or greater than the total reflection angle, or by making the surface of the inclined portion 13 a mirror surface, it is possible to efficiently guide the light without losing the light and to display a character separated from the light source 21 The part 16 can be illuminated. Therefore, even when a light source such as a chip type LED having a small light amount is used, the loss of light can be reduced, and a wide range of characters can be uniformly irradiated.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, light from a light source provided to illuminate from the back side of a button is efficiently guided, and a plurality of display portions of the button are displayed evenly. Can be done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an illumination structure of a button according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an illumination structure of a button according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a conventional button illumination structure, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC.

[Explanation of symbols]

 ... Push button 11... Upper part 12, 13... Slope part 14, 15, 16... Character display part 20... Substrate 21.・ Front 31 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Pore p ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Start point θ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Inclination angle α ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Incident angle

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An illumination structure of a button including a light-transmitting button having a plurality of character display portions and a light source provided to illuminate light from the back side of the button, wherein each of the character display portions is A distance from the light source is different, and an inclined portion on the back surface of the button is such that light from the light source is dispersed into transmitted light and reflected light, and light is uniformly applied to each of the character display portions. A button illumination structure, characterized in that a button is formed. 2. The illumination structure of a button according to claim 1, wherein the inclination of the inclined portion is such that light is uniformly applied to each of the character display portions. 3. The illumination structure for a button according to claim 2, wherein the surface state of the inclined portion is such that light is uniformly applied to each of the character display portions.