JP3346958B2 - Light switch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to relates to an optical switch that Hassu the Rihikari by to be the switch operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a sectional shape of a self-luminous switch used for a key switch of a portable telephone. The light-emitting switch is connected to the keyboard 5 through the opening 51a of the cover 51.
The second rubber key 52a is in a protruding state, and a conductor 53 made of conductive carbon is provided on the lower surface of the rubber key 52a. In addition, keyboard 5
A printed circuit board 54 is arranged below the pair 2, and a pair of electrode patterns 55 are provided below the rubber key 52 a on the printed circuit board 54 so as to face the conductor 53. When the rubber key 52a is pressed, each electrode pattern 55 is brought into contact with the conductor 53 and becomes conductive.

[0005] The printed circuit board 54 has each electrode pattern 5
5 is provided on each side thereof with each opening 54a, and the LE mounted on the back surface of the printed circuit board 54 is provided.
D (light emitting diode) 56 is arranged in a state fitted in each opening 54a.

[0004] Such a self-luminous switch is composed of each LED 5
6 is in a state of being constantly lit, and a rubber key 52a is provided.
Is pressed, the conductor 53 contacts the pair of electrode patterns 55 at the same time, and the electrode patterns 55
Are in a conductive state, the switching operation is performed, and the key switch of the mobile phone is turned on.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a self-luminous switch used for a dial of a stationary telephone. In this self-luminous switch, a key top 62 is fitted into an opening 61 a of a cover 61, and a printed circuit board 64 is disposed below the cover 61. And the printed circuit board 6
A mechanical switch element 65 is provided on 4, and a key top 62 is attached to a pair of movable pieces 65 a of the switch element 65. Switch element 65
An LED lamp 66 is mounted on the upper side so as to face the key top 62.

Such a self-luminous switch has a mechanical switch element 6 when the key top 62 is pressed.
5 operates to perform a switching operation and LE
The D lamp 66 is turned on.

[0007]

The self-luminous switch shown in FIG. 5 is composed of a conductor 53 provided on a rubber key 52a and a pair of electrode patterns 55 provided on a printed circuit board 54.
Are switched at the same time. For this reason, unless the conductor 53 contacts the pair of conductors 53 at the same time, the switching operation is not performed, and a malfunction may occur. Further, the contact portion may be worn due to repeated contact, and may not be operated stably for a long period of time.

The self-luminous switch shown in FIG. 6 uses a mechanical switch element 65 and therefore has a mechanical contact inside. Therefore, there is a possibility that the contact portion is worn and malfunctions, and it is impossible to operate stably for a long time.

[0009] The present invention is intended to solve such problems, its object is not to confirm the switching operation by the sense of fingertip, an optical switch that can be confirmed the switching operation by visual To provide.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

An optical switch according to the present invention comprises :
A light emitting element, a linear optical fiber arranged so that one end face faces the light emitting element so that light emitted from the light emitting element enters the inside, and light entering the optical fiber is inside the optical fiber. A through hole is provided through which an optical fiber is accommodated via an air layer so that light propagating inside the optical fiber is brought into contact with the inner surface of the through hole at a predetermined position of the optical fiber. And a light receiving element arranged to receive light leaking from the optical fiber and propagating inside the optical body after leaking from the optical fiber.

[0013] In the optical switch of this, light emitted from the light emitting element, enters the optical fiber in the through hole provided in the optical body of soft. The optical fiber disposed in the through hole of the optical body has an air layer provided between the optical fiber and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole, and light that has entered the optical fiber propagates through the optical fiber without leaking to the outside. When the soft optical body is pressed and the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole is brought into contact with a predetermined position of the optical fiber, light propagating in the optical fiber leaks into the optical body, and the leaked light is received by the light receiving element. Thus, a switching operation is performed.

In this case, a plurality of predetermined positions of the optical fiber are brought into contact with a plurality of positions on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole provided in the optical body, and the optical fiber leaks from each of the contact positions to be in contact with the optical fiber. If a plurality of light receiving elements are provided so as to receive light propagating in the body, a plurality of switching operations can be performed, and further, a plurality of optical fibers are provided in parallel with each other, and one end face of each optical fiber is provided. In addition, since the light emitting elements are arranged so as to face each other, even more switching operations can be performed.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a self- luminous switch, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing a use state of the switch. This self-luminous switch includes a light shield 11 having a flat surface and a concave portion 11a opened to the surface, and an optical body 12 embedded in the concave portion 11a of the light shield 11.
And a light-emitting element 13 for irradiating the optical body 12 with light, and a light-receiving element 14 for receiving light reflected from the optical body 12 emitted from the light-emitting element 13.

The concave portion 11a of the light shield 11 has a circular or polygonal opening on the surface of the light shield 11, and has a bottom surface 1a.
1b is a flat surface parallel to the surface of the light shield 11.
The recess 11 has a pair of inclined surfaces 11c sandwiching the bottom surface 11b.
And 11d are provided. One inclined surface 11c
Is connected to the opening of the recess 11a via the vertical surface 11e, and the other inclined surface 11d is directly connected to the opening of the recess 11a. The light emitting element 13 is buried in the light shielding body 11 so as to protrude into the concave portion 11a from the inclined surface 11c connected to the opening via the vertical surface 11e.

The optical body 12 embedded in the concave portion 11a
For example, the recess 11a is made of an optical resin.
It is filled and cured. The surface of the optical body 12 located in the opening of the concave portion 11a in the light shield 11 is flush with the surface of the light shield 11, and air emitted from the light is emitted from the light emitting element 13 when the surface comes into contact with the surface. It is a reflection surface 12a for total reflection. The light emitting element 13 embedded in the light shielding body 11 so as to protrude from the inclined surface 11c uses, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), and faces the reflection surface 12a of the optical body 12 filled in the concave portion 11a. Light is emitted at a predetermined angle.

In the vicinity of the inclined surface 14 opposed to the inclined surface 11c provided with the light emitting element 13 with the bottom surface 11b interposed therebetween,
The light receiving element 14 is embedded in the light shield 11. The light receiving element 14 has a light receiving portion through a through hole provided in the inclined surface 11c so as to receive the light emitted from the light emitting element 13 and propagated in the optical body 12 and reflected by the reflection surface 12a. 12 are arranged.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are graphs for explaining the refractive index of the optical body 12. FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, the refractive index N ₁ of the optical body 12 is such that light emitted from the light emitting element 13 and propagated in the optical body 12 is air (refractive index N 1).
₂ = 1.0) is set so as to be totally reflected by the contacting reflection surface 12a. The light reflected by the reflection surface 12a of the optical body 12 propagates in the optical body 12 and is received by the light receiving element 14. Therefore, the reflective surface 12a of the optical body 12, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), is brought into contact with the object of the refractive index N ₁ equal to the refractive index N ₁ of the optical member 12, is radiated from the light emitting element 13 Light propagating in the optical body 12 leaks straight from the reflecting surface 12a of the optical body 12 into the object. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the reflective surface 12a of the optical body 12, for example, as a fingertip has a large refractive index N ₃ than the refractive index 1.0 of air, moreover, enter the interior When an object capable of diffusing the emitted light comes in contact, light emitted from the light emitting element 13 and propagating in the optical body 12 leaks from the optical body 12 so as to enter the object, and light entering the object is Become diffuse.

In the self-luminous switch having such a structure, light is normally emitted from the light emitting element 13 at all times, and the light emitted from the light emitting element 13 is
2 and propagates in the optical body 12 in a straight-ahead state. Then, the light is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 12a with which the air comes into contact. The totally reflected light propagates in the optical body 12 in a straight line state, and is received by the light receiving element 14. The light receiving element 14 is in an off state when the light receiving element 14 receives the light emitted from the light emitting element 13 and totally reflected by the reflection surface 12a of the optical body 12, because the light receiving element 14 receives a light amount equal to or more than a predetermined value. .

In this state, when the fingertip F is brought into contact with the reflection surface 12a of the optical body 12 as shown in FIG. 1B, light emitted from the light emitting element 13 and propagating in the optical body 12 is emitted. The light leaks from the optical body 12 and enters the fingertip F by the fingertip in contact with the reflection surface 12a of the optical body 12. Then, the state is diffused in the fingertip F. This allows
The amount of light received by the light receiving element 14 is reduced to a predetermined value or less, and the light receiving element 14 is switched to the ON state.

At this time, the light leaking from the reflecting surface 12a of the optical body 12 and entering the fingertip in contact with the reflecting surface 12a is diffused in the fingertip F, and the fingertip shines brightly. State. Thereby, it can be confirmed that the amount of light received by the light receiving element 14 has decreased and the switching operation has been performed.

The self-luminous switch having such a configuration can be used for a keyboard of a computer, a switch of a mobile phone, a dial of a telephone, and the like, and is particularly preferably used as a keyboard switch for inputting a recite number. it can. That is, the switching operation is performed by the optical body 1.
Since the fingertip in contact with the second reflection surface 12a can be confirmed by being brightly lit, the CRT
It is not necessary to display a recitation number on a display device such as the like. As a result, there is no danger that the recitation number displayed on the display device will be memorized by another person, which is safe.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the actual施例of the optical switch of the present invention, FIG. 4 (a) is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. The optical switch of this is a plurality of touch switches for multi-type capable of switching operation, the optical member 22 formed into a rectangular flat plate shape by a transparent flexible optical resin, on one side of the optical body 22 A plurality of light-emitting elements 23 opposed to each other and arranged at equal intervals; and a plurality of light-receiving elements opposed to a side surface orthogonal to the side surface on which the light-emitting elements 23 are arranged, each of which is arranged at equal intervals. 24.

In the optical body 22, a plurality of linearly extending light-emitting elements 23 extend from one side to the opposite side of the optical body 22 so that one end face faces each light-emitting element 23. The through holes 22a are respectively formed in parallel. The inner peripheral surface of each through hole 22a has a sawtooth shape over the entire circumference. An optical fiber 25 is inserted into each through hole 22a. The optical fiber 25 does not contact the serrated inner peripheral surface of each through hole 22a,
With the air layer interposed all around, each through hole 2
2a.

In such an optical switch, each light receiving element 2
The surface of the optical body 22 corresponding to each optical fiber 25 crossing the optical axis of No. 4 is pressed.

Each light emitting element 23 emits light in turn, and the light emitted from each light emitting element 23 enters the optical fiber 25 which passes through the through hole 22 a of the optical body 22. Since the optical fiber 25 is covered by the air layer over the entire circumference, the light that has entered the optical fiber 25 is totally reflected by the outer peripheral surface, which is the boundary surface between the optical fiber 25 and the air layer, and The light propagates through the optical fiber 25 without leaking. The light that has propagated in the optical fiber 25 is emitted from the end face opposite to the end face facing the light emitting element 23.

In this state, when the surface of the optical body 22 corresponding to the intersection between the axis of each optical fiber 25 and the optical axis of each light receiving element 24 is pressed, as shown in FIG.
The surface of the soft optical body 22 is recessed, and the upper and lower portions of the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole 22a are
5 comes into contact with the upper and lower portions of the outer peripheral surface.
In such a state, light propagating in the optical fiber 25 passes through the through hole 2 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber 25.
2a leaks into the optical body 22 from the inner peripheral surface portion. Through hole 2
Since the inner peripheral surface of 2a is serrated,
Some of the light leaking into the optical body 22 propagates in the optical body 22 in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the optical fiber 25, and the light is transmitted by the light receiving element 24 arranged corresponding to the pressed portion of the optical body 22. Received.

Each of the light emitting elements 23 emits light sequentially. When one of the light receiving elements 24 receives light, the light emitting element 23 specifies which of the light emitting elements 23 emits light. Can be specified.

[0031]

[0032]

According to the optical switch of the present invention, the switching operation is performed by bringing the optical fiber in the optical body into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. Since electric contacts are not used, they can be used stably for a long time. In this case, by using a plurality of light receiving elements, a plurality of switching operations can be performed by one light emitting element and one optical fiber. Further, by using a plurality of light emitting elements and an optical fiber, the number of switching operations can be reduced. Can be dramatically increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a self- luminous switch, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view for explaining its operation.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are graphs each showing characteristics of an optical body used for the self-luminous switch.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the optical switch of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;
(B) is an explanatory diagram of the operation.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional light emitting switch.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a conventional light emitting switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Shield 12 Optical body 12a Reflective surface 13 Light emitting element 14 Light receiving element 22 Optical body 22a Through hole 23 Light emitting element 24 Light receiving element 25 Optical fiber

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 9/16 G01J 1/42 G01V 8/12 G01V 8/14 H01L 31/12

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An end face of the light emitting element is opposed to the light emitting element so that light emitted from the light emitting element enters the light emitting element.
A linear optical fiber arranged so that light enters the optical fiber
Optical fiber is accommodated through the air layer to propagate
Is provided, and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole is
The optical fiber can be
Light propagating inside the bar leaks out of the optical fiber
Quality optical body and light that leaks from the optical fiber and propagates inside the optical body
An optical switch, comprising: a light receiving element arranged to receive light. 2. A plurality of predetermined positions of the optical fiber are
A plurality of positions on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole provided in the optical body.
Are in contact with each other.
To receive the light that leaks out and propagates through the optical body
2. The optical switch according to claim 1, further comprising:
Ji. 3. A plurality of said optical fibers are provided in parallel with each other.
Each optical fiber has one end face
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the devices are arranged to face each other.
An optical switch according to claim 1.