JP5946655B2 - Light emitting module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a light emitting module used for a cover that covers a movable part such as a wearable movement assisting device attached to a human body or a joint part of various robots.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wearable motion assisting device that is worn on a foot, an arm, or the like and assists its bending and stretching motion is known.
As described in Patent Document 1, for example, this wearing-type motion assisting device is provided with a driving unit including a driving motor at a joint part of a mounting frame that is configured to be freely bent. It moves the joints together with the movement of the muscles, enabling the body functions to be expanded and amplified.

  The mounting frame is provided with a cover that protects the drive mechanism, and it has been studied to add a light emitting module to the cover.

WO2009-084387

This light emitting module is required to be as thin and thin as possible.
Conventionally, the light emitting module has a structure in which a light diffusing member is disposed in the path of light from a light emitting element such as an LED, and the light is scattered to a surface facing the incident surface, and diffused light from the surface facing the incident surface. Although it is configured to irradiate (emit) light, a substrate on which a light emitting element is mounted is disposed behind the light diffusing member, and the thickness of the mounting portion is required by the thickness of the light diffusing member, the light emitting element, and the substrate. It becomes.

In particular, when a rigid substrate is used as a mounting substrate for a light emitting element, the substrate itself is thick and hard and cannot be bent. If these spaces are secured, the space required for housing the light emitting module will be further increased.
Therefore, it is conceivable to use a flexible circuit body as a mounting substrate for the light emitting element, but even if a flexible circuit board is used, the thickness of the substrate is reduced, but the thickness is still required by the height of the light emitting element. And

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a light emitting module capable of reducing the thickness of the light emitting module provided on the cover as much as possible.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a light emitting module that emits light from a movable part that bends and extends with a drive mechanism,
A cover member for protecting the drive mechanism of the movable part;
A light guide member installed outside the cover member;
A circuit board mounted on the inside of the cover member and mounted with a light emitting element,
The cover member is provided with a plurality of transmission windows for guiding light from a light emitting element to the light guide member,
Irradiation in which light from the light emitting element is incident on a side surface of the light guide member facing the transmission window, and light is exposed to the outside of the light guide member by a reflective element or a refractive element provided in the light guide member In the structure that guides to the surface and irradiates ,
The cover member includes a cover body portion and a skirt portion formed so as to border the periphery of the cover body portion, and a portion surrounded by the back surface and the skirt portion of the cover body portion is the cover member. On the inside, the outer surface of the cover body and the outer surface of the skirt are the outside of the cover member,
A groove portion into which the light guide member is fitted is formed on the front surface of the cover main body that is outside the cover member, the transmission window is provided on the wall surface of the groove portion, and the light guide member is disposed in the groove portion. In the configuration that is fitted,
A light source mounted on a circuit board attached to the inside of the cover member is positioned facing the transmission window .

In this way, by arranging the circuit board on which the light emitting element is mounted on the inside of the cover member and only the light guide member on the outside of the cover member, the inner space and the outer space of the cover member can be effectively used, and the circuit is provided in the outer space. Compared with the case where the substrate and the light guide member are arranged together, the cover member can be made thinner.
The light guide member has a shape such as a plate shape or a sheet shape, guides the light incident from the side surface of the end facing the transmission window, and is substantially vertical from the plane direction by the reflective element and the refractive element. By changing the direction of the light to the direction and emitting light from the irradiation surface exposed to the outside, it can be made thin. In addition, since the circuit board is protected inside the cover member, even if it is bumped, it can be avoided from being damaged by an external force.

Before SL emitting element mounted on the circuit board that is attached to the inside of the cover member, and the transmission window, in the light guide member and the cross section, characterized in that aligned linearly.
As described above, by arranging the light emitting element, the transmission window, and the light guide member in a straight line, the thickness can be further reduced, and light from the light emitting element can be efficiently propagated.

Further, if the light guide member has a laminated structure including a light guide sheet and a diffusion sheet, more light from the light emitting element can be guided.
Furthermore, if the light guide member is formed in a ring shape, light can be emitted more uniformly by arranging the light emitting elements radially.
Further, the circuit board may be a flexible circuit board, and may be three-dimensionally deformed and attached along the unevenness inside the cover member.
In this case, the circuit board can be more efficiently accommodated by pasting along the unevenness, and the shape of the cover member is not restricted.

The circuit board is positioned and attached by a rib inside the cover member.
Positioning in the height direction is ensured by using a rib having high strength.
Further, if the light emitting module is used for the joint portion of the robot, it can be used as a display of the driving state of the driving mechanism.

  As described above, in the light emitting module of the present invention, since the light emitting element is arranged inside the cover and the light guide member is arranged outside the cover, the installation space of the cover can be used effectively, and the thickness is reduced. Thinning can be achieved.

(A) is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of the light emitting element of the light emitting module which concerns on embodiment of this invention, a permeation | transmission window, and a light guide member, (B) is a specific block diagram of a light emitting module. (A) is a top view of the light emitting module which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (B) is a back view. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cover member and the light guide member of FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cover member and the circuit board of FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. Absent.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the light emitting module 1 according to the present embodiment.
The light emitting module 1 is mounted on a foot, an arm, or the like, and emits light at a joint portion as a movable portion of a wearable movement assisting device that assists the bending and stretching operation.
The light emitting module 1 includes a cover member 2 that protects a drive mechanism such as a drive motor (not shown), a ring-shaped light guide member 4 that is installed outside the cover member 2, an LED that is attached to the inside of the cover member 2, and the like. And a C-shaped circuit board 8 on which the light emitting element 6 is mounted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover member 2 is formed so as to border the cover main body portion 21 having a circular shape with a part protruding in the radial direction and the periphery of the cover main body portion 21. The skirt portion 23 is provided. The skirt portion 23 extends at a right angle from the peripheral edge of the cover main body portion 21, and the corner portions of the cover main body portion 21 and the skirt portion 23 are rounded and rounded. Further, with respect to the protruding portion 212 of the cover main body portion 21, the skirt portion 23 is open, and a pair of attachment pieces 25, 25 are provided protruding from the open end portion.
The portion surrounded by the back surface of the cover body 21 and the skirt 23 is the inside of the cover member 2, and the surface of the cover body 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the skirt 23 are the outside of the cover member 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the outer shape of the cover main body portion 21 is provided with a central convex portion 27 that protrudes three-dimensionally in the opposite direction to the skirt portion 23. The central convex portion 27 is formed concentrically with the circular outline of the cover main body portion 21, and is arranged around the central convex portion 27 in a region between the root of the central convex portion 27 and the outer peripheral edge of the cover main body portion 21. A mounting groove 29 in which the light guide member 4 is mounted is formed so as to surround.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner shape of the cover main body portion 21 has an uneven shape opposite to the shape on the front side. ing. A cylindrical partition wall 22 that hangs down from the top back surface is provided on the back surface of the central convex portion 27 (partially broken in the figure). The front end position of the partition wall 22 extends to the same height as the back surface position of the cover main body 21. A plurality of radial reinforcing ribs 24 are provided in the circumferential direction in the annular space between the partition wall 22 and the inner peripheral wall surface 27b of the central convex portion 27 so that the cover member 2 is reinforced.

The reinforcing rib 24 is connected to the three surfaces of the top wall back surface of the central convex portion 27, the inner peripheral wall surface 27b of the central convex portion 27, and the outer peripheral surface of the partition wall 22, and the rib front end surface is an open end.
The rib leading end surface 24b of the reinforcing rib 24 is provided with a step that is one step lower than the leading end surface of the partition wall 22 and the back surface of the cover main body portion 21 and constitutes a mounting seat surface on which the circuit board 8 is mounted. Further, a rectangular recessed seat surface 26 b is formed on the back surface of the cover main body portion 21 corresponding to the peripheral edge of the inner peripheral wall surface 27 b of the central convex portion 27 at the same height as the rib front end surface 24 b of the reinforcing rib 24.
A plurality of transmission windows 3 for guiding light from the light emitting element 6 to the light guide member 4 are equally arranged in the circumferential direction on the inner wall 291 of the mounting groove 29 corresponding to the recess seat surface 26b. .

The circuit board 8 is a flexible circuit board, and includes a C-shaped circuit board main body 82, a plurality of light emitting element mounting pieces 84 that protrude radially from the outer peripheral edge of the circuit board main body 82, and a position between the light emitting element mounting pieces 84. And a drawer piece 86 extending from the outer peripheral edge of the circuit board main body 82. The lead piece 86 has a connection terminal with a lead wire, and the lead wire is connected with solder or the like. A connector may be mounted instead of the connection terminal and connected to a lead wire or a flat cable via the connector.
The circuit board main body 82 is supported by the rib front end surface 24 b of the reinforcing rib 24 inside the cover member 2, the inner periphery abuts against the partition wall 22, and the outer periphery contacts the inner peripheral wall surface 27 b of the central convex portion 27. Touch. The light emitting element mounting piece 84 is fitted into the recess seat surface 26 b formed on the back surface of the cover main body portion 21 between the end portion of the inner peripheral wall surface 27 b of the central convex portion 27 and the inner wall surface 291 of the mounting groove 29. Installed.

An LED array is used as the light emitting element 6 and is mounted at the tip of the light emitting element mounting piece 84, and the light emitting surface is positioned facing the transmission window 3. The positions of the light emitting element 6 in the circumferential direction and the radial direction with respect to the transmission window 3 are positioned by engaging the circuit board concave portion 87 and the rib convex portion 24c and fitting the light emitting element mounting piece 84 into the concave seat surface 26b.
The circuit board 8 is fixed by an adhesive sheet that follows the shape of the circuit board 8 although not particularly shown.
The drawer piece 86 is pasted in a three-dimensional manner following the convex shape of the back surface of the mounting groove 29. As described above, since the flexible circuit board is used as the circuit board 8, the circuit board 8 can be arranged following the complicated unevenness inside the cover member 2, and there is no restriction on the shape of the cover member 2.

On the other hand, the light guide member 4 has a ring shape that fits into the mounting groove 29, and its cross-sectional shape is a square shape that follows the cross-sectional shape of the mounting groove 29 as shown in FIG. The plastic ring cover 5 is mounted in an overlapping manner, and the ring cover 5 is substantially flush with the outer surface of the cover main body 21. In addition, as long as light guide member 4 can be made to light-emit, according to the design of cover member 2, not only a perfect circle but an ellipse, a teardrop type, a dharma type, etc. may be used, and a part is connected. It is good also as C-shape which is not.
The light guide member 4 has a laminated structure including a light guide sheet 41 and a diffusion sheet 42. In this example, two light guide sheets and one diffusion sheet 42 are laminated with an adhesive layer 43. It is. In the present embodiment, a plurality of light guide sheets 41 are stacked in order to make light incident more efficiently.
The light guide sheet 41 is a light transmissive member made of, for example, light transmissive urethane, acrylic, polycarbonate, silicone, glass, or the like, and can transmit light emitted from the light emitting element (LED) 6. Any material can be used regardless of whether it is organic or inorganic, and the organic material has the characteristic hardness of a member generally referred to as organic glass, regardless of thermosetting or thermoplasticity. It may be an elastomer having elasticity. In addition, the light guide sheet has a reflective element or a refractive element provided by printing reflective dots, laser processing, molding of prism grooves, blending of peas particles, or the like.
In the present embodiment, milky white polycarbonate is used for the diffusion sheet 42, but it is not particularly limited as long as it diffuses light. Similar to the light guide sheet 41, a plurality of sheets may be laminated and used. The diffusion sheet 42 may also serve as a surface protection, but a light-transmitting protection sheet having impact resistance, wear resistance, weather resistance, etc. may be laminated on the surface as necessary. Thus, the light emitting element 6 mounted on the circuit board 8 attached to the inside of the cover member 2, the transmission window 3, and the light guide member 4 are arranged in a straight line in a cross-sectional view. .

Next, the operation of the light emitting module of this embodiment will be described.
When power is supplied to the circuit board 8 and the light emitting element 6 emits light, light emitted from the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 6 enters the light guide sheet 41 from the end side surface 41a of the light guide sheet 41 through the transmission window 3. It is irradiated as diffused light from the outer surface of the light guide member 4 and shines in a ring shape. The state of the drive motor can be displayed by interlocking with the control signal of the drive motor.
In the present embodiment, the light guide sheet 41 is in contact with the adhesive layer, and light traveling in the light guide sheet 41 is directed to the other end of the light guide sheet 41 while repeating reflection due to the difference in refractive index. If there is a reflective element such as a white dot on the optical path, the light is scattered and the light exits from the light guide sheet 41 in the direction of the diffusion sheet.
Light from the light emitting element 6 enters the side surface of the light guide member 4, and the light is guided to the irradiation surface exposed to the outside of the light guide member 4 by the reflection element or the refraction element provided on the light guide member 4. It has a configuration.
Thus, by arranging the circuit board 8 on which the light emitting element 6 is mounted inside the cover member 2 and only the light guide member 4 outside the cover member 2, the inner space and the outer space of the cover member 2 are effectively used. The cover member can be made thinner than in the case where the circuit board 8 and the light guide member 4 are arranged together in the outer space.
In particular, by arranging the light emitting element 6, the transmission window 3, and the light guide member 4 in a straight line, the thickness can be further reduced, and the light from the light emitting element 6 can be efficiently propagated.
Moreover, since the light guide member 4 is ring-shaped and the light-emitting elements 6 are arranged radially, light can be emitted uniformly. In the case where there is unevenness, it is possible to make the vicinity of the light emitting element 6 more uniform by partially shielding the light guide member 4 from light.

In the above embodiment, the transmission window 3 is provided on the inner wall 291 of the mounting groove 29 of the cover member 2, but the transmission window is provided on the wall surface on the outer wall side of the mounting groove 29 to cover the light emitting element and the substrate. The light emitting element may be arranged inside the member 2 so as to face the outer wall.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the circuit board which mounted the light guide member and the light emitting element on the permeation | transmission window became a separate structure, and the light of the light guide member arrange | positioned outside through the permeation | transmission window of the light guide element Although the light is incident on the side surface, the light guide member may have a light guide section that passes through the transmission window, and the light guide section may be connected to the circuit board. In this case, the cover member may be divided into upper and lower parts in the through window portion.
Moreover, it is not limited to the joint part of a robot, It can apply to the cover which protects the drive mechanism of the movable part of various machines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light emitting module, 2 Cover member, 3 Transmission window, 4 Light guide member, 6 Light emitting element,
8 Circuit board

Claims (7)

A light emitting module that emits light from a movable part that bends and extends with a drive mechanism,
A cover member for protecting the drive mechanism of the movable part;
A light guide member installed outside the cover member;
A circuit board mounted on the inside of the cover member and mounted with a light emitting element,
The cover member is provided with a plurality of transmission windows for guiding light from a light emitting element to the light guide member,
Irradiation in which light from the light emitting element is incident on a side surface of the light guide member facing the transmission window, and light is exposed to the outside of the light guide member by a reflective element or a refractive element provided in the light guide member In the structure that guides to the surface and irradiates ,
The cover member includes a cover body portion and a skirt portion formed so as to border the periphery of the cover body portion, and a portion surrounded by the back surface and the skirt portion of the cover body portion is the cover member. On the inside, the outer surface of the cover body and the outer surface of the skirt are the outside of the cover member,
A groove portion into which the light guide member is fitted is formed on the front surface of the cover main body that is outside the cover member, the transmission window is provided on the wall surface of the groove portion, and the light guide member is disposed in the groove portion. In the configuration that is fitted,
A light emitting module, wherein a light source mounted on a circuit board attached to the inside of the cover member is positioned facing a transmission window . It said light emitting element mounted before SL on the circuit board that is attached to the inside of the cover member,
The light-emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the transmission window and the light guide member are arranged in a straight line in a cross-sectional view.   The light emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member has a laminated structure including a light guide sheet and a diffusion sheet.   The light emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member has a ring shape.   5. The circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board is a flexible circuit board and is three-dimensionally deformed and attached along the unevenness inside the cover member. Light emitting module.   The light emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board is positioned and attached by an inner rib of the cover member.   The light emitting module according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion provided with the light emitting module is a joint portion of a robot.

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