JP3620245B2 - Illumination structure of operation knob - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure for illuminating the periphery of the operation knob provided in the audio device other electrical equipment, a lighting structure as details can uniformly illuminate the periphery of the operation knob which performs volume adjustment or frequency conversion .
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, on an operation panel of an electric device, a number of operation knobs necessary for operation of the model such as a mode change switch, a push button switch, and a dial for frequency conversion and volume adjustment are arranged. Most of them are just protruding from the exterior panel, but some of them are illuminated with a light source around the operation knob to improve the operability by clarifying the position, and at the same time, the aesthetic effect by the electric decoration effect Some have improved.
[0003]
For example, in an operation panel provided with a tuning jog dial J as an operation knob on the exterior panel as shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical light guide member D having light transmittance around the jog dial J is provided on the exterior panel P. It is known that the light source L faces the one end surface of the light guide member D. Here, the light source L is mounted on the circuit board B on the back side of the exterior panel P, and when lit, the emitted light is incident from one end surface of the light guide member D, and is emitted from the periphery of the jog dial J through the inside. The
[0004]
Therefore, according to this type of lighting device, the periphery of the jog dial J as the operation knob is illuminated, so that the position is clear even in a dark room and there is no misoperation, and the jog dial J emits light from the light source L. Since it is shining, it is aesthetic and the added value of the product is greatly improved.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the illumination device as described above, there is a drawback in that an area for arranging the light source is required on the back side of the operation panel, so that the size of the electric device main body is increased. In addition, if the light guide member is a completely transparent body having high light transmittance, only the portion where the light source exists is brightened. To prevent this, if the light source is separated from the light guide member, the size of the device main body further increases. There is a difficulty of doing.
[0006]
For this reason, a milky white translucent material is generally used as the light guide member, but a large number of light sources are required to reduce the amount of light reaching the light source as much as the light transmittance is low, which is a major problem in terms of power consumption. Have left.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to illuminate the periphery of an operation knob and a display panel brightly and uniformly with as little light source and light quantity as possible without requiring a large installation area.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Since the present invention is to achieve the above object, to illuminate the periphery of the operation knob rotationally operations in order to perform a signal input from the attached to the signal input component electrical device comprises the signal input parts, the operating knob In the illumination structure, the exterior panel of the electrical device is provided with a housing portion having a bottom surface portion and a wall portion and having a concave section, and the operation knob is opposed to the back surface of the operation knob and the surface of the bottom surface portion. The peripheral surface of the operation knob and the wall portion are arranged close to each other, and a light source that emits light between the back surface of the operation knob and the surface of the bottom surface portion is arranged in the housing portion, and the operation The knob is formed with a first reflecting surface that reflects the light from the light source so as to face the surface of the bottom surface, and the light from the light source is applied to the bottom surface so as to face the first reflecting surface. Forming a second reflecting surface to reflect, from the light source Light, characterized in that a structure for guiding to emit to the outside from between the first the operation knob is reflected repeatedly between the reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface of the wall portion.
[0009]
Here, the operation knob and its housing may be formed of an opaque material having high reflectivity as a whole, or the back surface of the operation knob and the bottom surface of the housing may be covered with such a sheet or paint. It can also be a surface. However, it is preferable that the color tone is a white system with high reflectance. Therefore, the invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface are white.
[0010]
Moreover, although the light color of red or green can be used as the color tone of the light source, the illumination effect can be further enhanced by installing light emitters having different emission colors as the light source and lighting them individually. Accordingly, in the invention according to claim 3, the light source is composed of the first light emitter and the second light emitter that have different emission colors, and one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter is changed from one to the other by rotating the operation knob. It is characterized in that the lighting is switched.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a reproducing apparatus for a recording medium as an application example of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an operation panel of the playback apparatus. The operation panel 1 is configured by arranging a display unit and operation knobs on an exterior panel 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes a loading port for loading, for example, an MD (mini disc) as a recording medium, and reference numeral 4 denotes a liquid crystal display as a display unit showing a reproduction state of the recording medium. 5 is a main power switch, 6 is a push button for reproducing a recording medium, 7 is a push button for recording, 8 is an eject switch, 9 is a button for selecting a recording medium stored in multiple stages, 10 is a volume knob, Reference numeral 11 denotes a jog dial used for music selection or character input to a recording medium. In this example, as an operation knob, the periphery of the jog dial 11 is illuminated by a light source mounted on the back side thereof.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the enlarged portion. In FIG. 2, 12 is a housing part formed on the exterior panel 2, 13A and 13B are light-emitting diodes mounted as light sources in the housing part 12, and the jog dial 11 is light-emitting diodes 13A and 13B (first light emission) in the housing part 12. Body and second light emitter). The light emitting diodes 13A and 13B have different emission colors, and are alternately provided in the circumferential direction of the jog dial 11 as shown in the figure, and the same color diodes face each other in the radial direction of the jog dial 11.
[0013]
Next, FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along line XX in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 14 denotes a circuit board built in the reproducing apparatus, and a rotary encoder 15 (signal input component) is mounted on the circuit board 14. The jog dial 11 is supported so that it can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions by being attached to the operation shaft 16, and the rotational operation amount is read by the rotary encoder 15 through the operation shaft 16. Here, the jog dial 11 includes a T-shaped base 18 having a hollow shaft portion 17 fixed to the operation shaft 16 and a metal cover 19 fitted on the surface of the base. Among these, the base 18 is formed of, for example, white and opaque polystyrene, and the back surface thereof is formed as a white reflecting surface 20 that reflects the light emitted from the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B. Instead of integrally forming the base 18 with such a white material, for example, the base 18 is made transparent and a white reflective sheet is stuck only on the back surface, or a white material is applied to the back surface of the cover 19. It can also be used as a reflective surface.
[0014]
On the other hand, the accommodating portion 12 is a bottomed cylindrical outer frame 21 having a concave cross section formed of an opaque synthetic resin such as ABS resin, and a colorless and transparent disk-shaped lens 22 accommodated in the outer frame. The wall part 23 close | similar to the surrounding surface of the jog dial 11 and the bottom face part 24 close | similar to the back surface of the jog dial 11 are formed. Among these, the outer frame 21 has the above-mentioned wall portion 23, a hub 25 through which the shaft portion 17 of the operation knob passes, and several hooks 26 extending on the opposite side of the wall portion 23. It is introduced and fixed inside. The lens 22 has a circular protrusion 27 with which the peripheral edge of the back surface of the jog dial 11 is slidably contacted, and is fixed to the outer frame 21. The protrusion 27 prevents dust and the like from entering the housing portion 12. Yes. Here, the bottom surface portion 24 is formed by the lens 22 and a portion of the outer frame 21 that fixes the lens. The lens 22 and the outer frame 21 are provided with openings 28 and 29 for introducing the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B. In addition, an opaque reflecting surface 30 is formed on the back surface of the lens 22 by applying a white pigment or the like. The reflecting surface 30 faces the reflecting surface 20 of the operation knob via the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B, and reflects the light emitted from the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B, respectively, to radiate from between the jog dial 11 and the wall portion 23. it can. The outer frame 21 may be integrally formed with a white synthetic resin or the like to form a white reflecting surface on the bottom surface portion 24.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B have their tips facing the back surface of the jog dial 11 through openings 28 and 29 formed in the outer frame 21 and the lens 22, and the terminals not shown are exterior panels. 2 to the circuit board 14. Only one of the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B that emits a red light emitting color, for example, is lit during normal times, and the lighting can be switched to the other during operation of the jog dial 11. As the switching means, in this example, a signal transmitted from the rotary encoder 15 is detected, and energization to the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B is switched depending on the presence or absence of the detection signal. For example, when a signal is not transmitted from the rotary encoder 15 within a predetermined time, only the light emitting diode 13A emitting a red light emission color is energized through an electric circuit on the circuit board 14, and conversely, the signal is continuously transmitted from the rotary encoder 15. In this case, only the light emitting diode 13B that emits green light emission is energized.
[0016]
Here, the operation of the illumination structure configured as described above will be described. First, the jog dial 11 is not operated, and only one of the light emitting diodes 13A is lit by energization from the circuit board 14. At this time, the light irradiates the back surface of the jog dial 11 and the bottom surface portion 24 of the housing portion, and the irradiated light passes through the projection 27 of the lens while repeating total reflection at the reflecting surfaces 20 and 30, and finally. The light is radiated to the outside from between the jog dial 11 and the wall portion 23. In particular, since the wall portion 23 exists, the light does not diffuse along the exterior panel 2, but can be condensed in the orthogonal direction so that only the peripheral edge of the jog dial 11 can be illuminated brightly and uniformly. When the jog dial 11 is operated in this state, the rotary encoder 15 is activated to generate a specific signal, the input signal to the recording medium is searched using the specific signal, and at the same time, the electric path to the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B is switched. It is done. For this reason, instead of the light emitting diode 13A, the other light emitting diode 13B is lit, so that the periphery of the jog dial 11 is decorated with a different lightning color.
[0017]
Having described the preferred example of the present invention, the present invention can also be illuminated not only to illuminate the periphery of the jog dial 11, the periphery of such volume knob 10 shown as an operation knob for example in FIG. 1 .
[0018]
The light emitting diode 13A can be turned on and off by, for example, operating the main power switch 5 shown in FIG. Also, if Ru provided with a light emitter of a different color, it may be provided individually switch for the switching on outer panel 2.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the jog dial and other operation knobs are arranged in the accommodating portion provided in the exterior panel, and the light source is accommodated in the accommodating portion, so that the overall size can be reduced. A reflective surface is formed on the operation knob and the bottom of the housing so that the light emitted from the light source is emitted from the periphery of the operation knob. Can be illuminated.
[0020]
In particular, since the wall portion close to the peripheral surface of the operation knob is formed, the emitted light of the light source does not diffuse along the exterior panel and is concentrated on the periphery of the operation knob, and the brightness of the portion increases. Since the reflecting surface is white, the amount of light radiated from the periphery of the operation knob is large, and the color tone is clear and the operation knob stands out.
[0021]
In addition, light emitters with different emission colors are used as light sources, and their lighting can be switched by operating the operation knob, so that the color tone of the periphery of the operation knob can be changed each time, greatly improving the lighting effect. To do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an operation panel of an audio device as an application example of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a specific operation knob equipped on the operation panel. X-ray cross-sectional view [FIG. 4] Partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing a lighting device for an operation panel in a conventional electric device [Explanation of symbols]
1 Operation panel 2 Exterior panel 11 Jog dial (operation knob)
12 Housing parts 13A, 13B Light emitting diode (light source)
20 Reflecting surface 23 Wall 24 Bottom surface 30 Reflecting surface

Claims (3)

Illuminating the periphery of the operation knob rotationally operations in order to perform a signal input from the signal input parts attached to the signal input component electrical device comprises, in the illumination structure of the operation knob,
The exterior panel of the electrical device is provided with a housing portion having a bottom surface portion and a wall portion and having a concave cross section. While placing the peripheral surface of the knob and the wall portion close to each other,
A light source that emits light between the back surface of the operation knob and the surface of the bottom surface portion is disposed in the housing portion,
The operation knob has a first reflecting surface that reflects light from the light source facing the surface of the bottom surface portion, and faces the first reflecting surface from the light source to the bottom surface portion. Forming a second reflecting surface for reflecting light;
The structure is such that light from the light source is repeatedly reflected by the first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface and guided so as to be radiated to the outside from between the operation knob and the wall portion. Illumination structure of the characteristic operation knob. The illumination structure of the operation knob according to claim 1, wherein the first reflecting surface and the second reflecting surface are white. The light source is composed of a first light emitter and a second light emitter having different emission colors, and the lighting is switched from one of the first light emitter and the second light emitter to the other by rotating the operation knob. The illumination structure of the operation knob according to claim 1.

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