JP7108849B2 - Optical components, light source units, electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an optical member that emits light emitted from a plurality of light sources, a light source unit having the same, and an electronic device.

Patent document 1 includes a plurality of LEDs and a light shielding plate having the same number of through-holes formed to face these LEDs. discloses a light source device that radiates to the outside through. In addition, in Patent Document 1, in order to suppress the deterioration of the contrast when the LED is turned on and when it is turned off, the light emitted from the light emitting element of each LED is condensed with the through hole position as the focal point, and then the light is emitted from the through hole to the outside. It discloses to radiate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-284658

The present disclosure provides an optical member capable of shielding light emitted from a plurality of light sources so as not to enter light guide portions other than the light guide portions arranged to face each light source, and a light source unit and an electronic device having the same. I will provide a.

An optical member is provided in the present disclosure.
The optical member of the present disclosure is
The optical member is an optical member that emits light emitted from a plurality of light sources spaced apart from each other and arranged in parallel through a plurality of light guide portions arranged to face the plurality of light sources.
The optical member is
a plurality of light guides;
and a plate-shaped wall surrounding the plurality of light guides in a direction perpendicular to their optical axes.
The wall has a light transmittance lower than that of the plurality of light guides.
The wall portion and the plurality of light guide portions are integrally formed by two-color molding using resin.
Ribs are integrally formed on the wall portion to block light emitted from the plurality of light sources from entering light guide portions other than the light guide portions arranged to face the respective light sources.

A light source unit is provided in the present disclosure.
A light source unit of the present disclosure includes the optical member of the present disclosure, and a plurality of light sources arranged to face the plurality of light guide portions of the optical member.

An electronic device is provided in the present disclosure.
The electronic device of the present disclosure is
a light source unit of the present disclosure;
a housing that accommodates the light source unit.
The outer wall of the housing is provided with a plurality of openings for emitting the light emitted from the plurality of light sources of the light source unit and transmitted through the light guide sections corresponding to the respective light sources to the outside of the housing.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to block light emitted from a plurality of light sources so as not to enter light guide portions other than the light guide portions arranged to face each light source.

1 is a front perspective view of the computer according to Embodiment 1, as viewed obliquely from above; FIG. They are an enlarged front view (Fig. 2(a)) and an enlarged plan view (Fig. 2(b)) of a portion indicated by an arrow Z1 in Fig. 1 . 1. It is the perspective view which showed the part shown by arrow Z1 of FIG. 1 in the state which removed the lower side housing|casing of the 2nd housing|casing, and was seen from the diagonally forward downward direction. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the portion indicated by an arrow Z1 in FIG. 1 as seen obliquely from the front and below with the lower housing of the second housing removed and the optical member separated from the upper housing; It is a perspective view of an optical member. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the optical member as seen from the direction of arrow Z51 in FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a side view showing the optical member as seen from the direction of arrow Z52 in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a state in which the optical member and the light source unit are attached to the housing; FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 8 showing a state in which the optical member and the light source unit are attached to the housing;

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters and redundant descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary verbosity in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

It is noted that the inventors provide the accompanying drawings and the following description for a full understanding of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art and are not intended to limit the claimed subject matter thereby. do not have.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1-1. configuration, etc.]
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a computer according to Embodiment 1, viewed obliquely from above.

Computer 100 is an example of an electronic device according to the present disclosure, and includes first housing 101 and second housing 102 . The computer 100 is a notebook computer in which a first housing 101 and a second housing 102 are rotatable via a hinge 103 relative to each other.

A display unit 240 is provided in the first housing 101 .

A keyboard 231 , a touch pad 232 , an operation button 233 , a plurality of indicators 250 and the like are arranged on the outer surface of the second housing 102 . Further, inside the second housing 102, an arithmetic processing unit, a memory, an SSD, and the like are accommodated. The second housing 102 has an upper housing 102A forming the upper side of the second housing 102 and a lower housing 102B forming the lower side of the second housing 102 .

The arithmetic processing unit controls the operation of the computer 100 as a whole. The arithmetic processing unit performs arithmetic processing based on the OS, various application programs and data stored in the storage unit, and information input from various input devices, and realizes various functions. The arithmetic processing unit is composed of, for example, a CPU, MPU, FPGA, or the like.

The display unit 240 displays images and videos based on image signals input from the arithmetic processing unit or the like. The display unit 240 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The keyboard 231 has a plurality of keys and outputs signals corresponding to keys pressed by the user.

The touch pad 232 is a pointing device that outputs a signal indicating the position touched by the user.

The operation button 233 is a press-type button switch, and outputs a signal indicating that it has been pressed when pressed by the user. The operation button 233 is used, for example, as a decision button.

Each indicator 250 lights, extinguishes, or blinks according to a signal output from the arithmetic processing unit or the like, and informs the user of the operating state of the hardware, the execution state of the function, and the like.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view (FIG. 2(a)) and an enlarged plan view (FIG. 2(b)) of the portion indicated by arrow Z1 in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each indicator 250 is arranged at the front edge of the second housing 102, and the light emitted from the LED arranged inside the second housing 102 is The light is emitted to the outside of the second housing 102 through an opening 102h provided at the front edge of the second housing 102 . A light guide portion 301b, which is an optical member, is fitted in the opening 102h to collect the light emitted from the LED and guide it to the opening 102h. An LED is one example of a light source.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the portion indicated by the arrow Z1 in FIG. 1 as seen obliquely from the front and below with the lower housing 102B of the second housing 102 removed. FIG. 4 shows the portion indicated by the arrow Z1 in FIG. 1 with the lower housing 102B of the second housing 102 removed and the optical member 300 separated from the upper housing 102A, viewed obliquely from the front and below. 1 is a perspective view of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light guide portions 301b are formed in the optical member 300 and arranged in parallel so as to be separated from each other. The shape and positional relationship between the plurality of light guide portions 301b are set so that they can be fitted into the plurality of openings 102h of the upper housing 102A. As shown in FIG. 4, when the optical member 300 is attached to the upper housing 102A of the second housing 102, the light guide section 301b fits into the opening 102h of the second housing 102, and the light guide section 301b faces the external space through the opening 102h.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the optical member 300. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the optical member 300 as seen from the direction of arrow Z51 in FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the optical member 300 as seen from the direction of arrow Z52 in FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing the optical member 300 and the light source unit attached to the second housing 102. FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 8 showing the optical member 300 and the light source unit attached to the second housing 102. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the optical member 300 is made of resin and has a plate-like front wall portion 302a and an extension portion 302b extending vertically from one end of the front wall portion 302a, and is generally L-shaped in plan view. It has a shape of

The light guide portions 301b are arranged on the plate-shaped front wall portion 302a so as to be separated from each other at substantially constant intervals in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The extending portion 302b is a portion for positioning the optical member 300 with respect to the upper housing 102A. Specifically, projections 102p, 102s, and 102t are formed on the inner surface of the upper housing 102A as shown in FIG. 3, and the optical member 300 is attached to the upper housing 102A as shown in FIG. In this state, the extending portion 302b abuts on the projections 102p, 102s, and 102t to restrict the movement of the optical member 300 with respect to the upper housing 102A. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a lateral wall portion 302d perpendicular to the rear wall portion 302c is provided at the tip of the rear wall portion 302c behind the front wall portion 302a. As shown in FIG. 6, a side wall portion 302d facing the upper wall portion 102u of the second housing 102 is provided with a concave portion 302x that fits into a positioning projection (not shown) of the upper wall portion 102u. In addition, a concave portion 302x that fits into a positioning projection (not shown) of the upper wall portion 102u is provided on the surface of the extending portion 302b facing the upper wall portion 102u of the second housing 102. As shown in FIG. Positioning of the optical member 300 to the upper housing 102A is performed by these locking and fitting.

As shown in FIG. 5, the optical member 300 includes a plurality of light guide portions 301b and a plate-like front wall portion 302a (wall portion) surrounding the plurality of light guide portions 301b in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis thereof. , have The front wall portion 302a and the plurality of light guide portions 301b are integrally formed of resin. The light guide portion 301b has a light transmittance greater than or equal to a predetermined level so that the light emitted from the LED 402 can pass therethrough. The base portion 301a, which is the base portion of the projecting light guide portion 301b, also has the same light transmittance as the light guide portion 301b. Hereinafter, the light guide portion 301b and the base portion 301a are collectively referred to as the “light transmission portion 301”. The light transmitting portion 301 of the optical member 300 has, for example, translucent white (milky white) so as to have a light transmittance of a predetermined magnitude or more. A portion of the optical member 300 other than the light transmitting portions 301 and including the front wall portion 302a (hereinafter referred to as “substrate 302”) has a light transmittance lower than that of the plurality of light transmitting portions 301. . Substrate 302 has an opaque black color so that it has zero light transmission, ie, does not transmit light. According to such an optical member 300 , the light emitted from the LED 402 is emitted only through the light transmitting portion 301 . In the present disclosure, the light transmittance of the substrate 302 is not limited to zero as long as it is smaller than the light transmittance of the plurality of light transmitting portions 301 to the extent that the object of the present disclosure can be achieved.

The resin optical member 300 integrally including the substrate 302 having different light transmittances and the plurality of light transmitting portions 301 as described above can be formed using a known two-color molding method, for example.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the optical member 300 has a rear wall portion 302c substantially parallel to the front wall portion 302a, and the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical member 300 has a substantially U-shaped cross section. has the shape of Thereby, a groove portion 302e is formed between the front wall portion 302a and the rear wall portion 302c.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a circuit board 401 on which a plurality of LEDs 402 are mounted is arranged in the groove 302e. An FPC 403 is connected to one end of the circuit board 401 . The optical member 300 , the LED 402 , the FPC 403 and the circuit board 401 constitute a light source unit 400 .

The plurality of LEDs 402 and the plurality of light guide portions 301b of the optical member 300 are arranged to face each other.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the substrate 302 is integrally formed with a plurality of ribs 302f projecting from between the plurality of light guide portions 301b toward between the plurality of LEDs 402. As shown in FIG. 9, the rib 302f has approximately the same height as the front wall portion 302a.

The amount of projection of the rib 302f is set so that the tip of the rib approaches the circuit board 401 when the circuit board 401 is fitted in the groove 302e of the optical member 300 . Proximity here means that even if the optical member 300 and the circuit board 401 have a dimensional tolerance of a tolerance level, both components are arranged with a minute gap between them so that they do not come into contact with each other. By bringing the LEDs 402 close to each other in this manner, the light emitted from the LEDs 402 can be prevented from reaching the adjacent light guide portion 301b due to irregular reflection or the like.

If the optical member 300 and the circuit board 401 are made of a material that allows contact with each other, the protrusion amount of the rib 302f is set so that the tip of the rib contacts the circuit board 401. good too. In this case, it is possible to more appropriately suppress the light emitted from the LED 402 from reaching the adjacent light guide portion 301b.

Here, the circuit board 401 is not fixed to the second housing 102, and does not move in the longitudinal direction or the height direction of the front wall portion 302a of the optical member 300 while being arranged at a predetermined position in the groove portion 302e. is locked by the optical member 300 as shown in FIG. A structure for locking is not particularly shown, but any structure that can lock can be used. The optical member 300 is attached while being positioned with respect to the second housing 102 by the protrusions 102p, 102s, and 102t described above. Therefore, the circuit board 401 is positioned on the second housing 102 via the optical member 300 so as not to move in the width direction and the thickness direction of the second housing 102 .

As described above, the optical member 300 has the rear wall portion 302c behind the front wall portion 302a as shown in FIG. Further, the circuit board 401 is fitted in the groove portion 302e of the optical member 300 and is adjacent to the rear end of the rib 302f and the rear wall portion 302c. Therefore, the circuit board 401 is restricted from falling forward and backward. In other words, the circuit board 401 is held by the rear wall portion 302c of the optical member 300 and the like so as not to fall back and forth.

Each light transmitting portion 301 (base portion 301a) is formed larger than each opening 102h. If each light transmission part 301 is smaller than each opening 102h of the second housing 102, each light transmission part 301 can be visually recognized from the outside of the second housing 102 through each opening 102h of the second housing 102. have a nature. This detracts from the appearance of computer 100 . In order to avoid this, in the present embodiment, each light transmitting portion 301 is arranged so that the base 302 of the optical member 300 is not visible from the outside of the second housing 102 through each opening 102h of the second housing 102. It is formed larger than the opening 102h.

Conventionally, an optical member having a light guide has been arranged inside the opening of the second housing in order to emit the light emitted from the LED to the outside. However, while the optical member as a whole has a light transmittance equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it does not have ribs. Therefore, in order to prevent the light emitted from the LEDs other than the LEDs corresponding to the openings of the second housing from leaking to the outside through the openings, the second housing is provided with LEDs directed between the plurality of LEDs. It had protruding ribs. The second housing of the electronic device is formed by casting using a magnesium alloy in order to improve the strength of the electronic device. However, in casting, it is difficult to keep the dimensional accuracy of relatively small ribs within tolerances, and products that do not fit within tolerances are discarded. Also, in order to prevent leakage of light, a resin sheet was also used. As described above, conventionally, the cost associated with the indicator has increased due to the need to dispose of the second housing and the need for a separate resin sheet. In addition, the number of parts such as resin sheets has increased.

[1-2. effects, etc.]
(1) The optical member 300 of the present embodiment is
It is an optical member that emits light emitted from a plurality of LEDs 402 (an example of a light source) that are spaced apart from each other and arranged in parallel through a plurality of light guide portions 301b arranged to face the plurality of LEDs 402, respectively.
The optical member 300 is
a plurality of light guide portions 301b;
It has a plate-like front wall portion 302a (wall portion) that surrounds the plurality of light guide portions 301b in a direction perpendicular to their optical axes.
The front wall portion 302a has a light transmittance lower than that of the plurality of light guide portions 301b.
The front wall portion 302a and the plurality of light guide portions 301b are integrally formed by two-color molding using resin.
A rib 302f is integrally formed on the front wall portion 302a to block the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs 402 from entering the light guide portions 301b other than the light guide portions 301b arranged to face the respective LEDs 402. As shown in FIG.

Thereby, the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs 402 can be shielded so as not to enter the light guide portions 301b other than the light guide portions 301b arranged to face each LED 402 .
(2) In the optical member 300 of this embodiment,
The rib 302f protrudes from between the plurality of light guide portions 301b toward between the arrangement positions of the plurality of LEDs 402 and intervenes between the arrangement positions of the plurality of LEDs 402 .

As a result, the ribs 302f partition the arrangement space of the plurality of LEDs 402 for each LED 402, so that the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs 402 does not enter the light guide portions 301b other than the light guide portions 301b arranged to face each LED 402. It can be shaded like this.

(3) In the optical member 300 of this embodiment,
The light transmittance of the front wall portion 302a is zero.

As a result, light does not pass through the front wall portion 302a, so the above-described effects are further improved.

(4) The light source unit 400 of this embodiment is
an optical member 300;
and a plurality of LEDs 402 arranged to face the plurality of light guide portions 301 b of the optical member 300 .

Thereby, the light source unit 400 that can obtain the above-described effects is obtained.

(5) In the light source unit 400 of this embodiment,
It further comprises a circuit board 401 on which a plurality of LEDs 402 are mounted.
The tips of the ribs 302 f are close to the circuit board 401 .

As a result, the light emitted from the LED 402 and irregularly reflected in the periphery can be further suppressed from leaking from between the tip of the rib 302 f and the circuit board 401 .

(6) In the light source unit 400 of this embodiment,
It further comprises a circuit board 401 on which a plurality of LEDs 402 are mounted.
The tips of the ribs 302f are in contact with the circuit board 401. As shown in FIG.

As a result, the light emitted from the LED 402 and irregularly reflected in the periphery can be prevented from leaking from between the tip of the rib 302f and the circuit board 401 as much as possible.

(7) In the light source unit 400 of this embodiment,
The optical member 300 has a rear wall portion 302c (holding portion) that holds the circuit board 401 so that the distance between the tip of the rib 302f and the circuit board 401 does not widen.

This makes it difficult for the distance between the tip of the rib 302f and the circuit board 401 to widen, and as a result, the above-described light shielding effect can be appropriately maintained.

(8) The computer 100 of the present embodiment is
a light source unit 400;
and a second housing 102 (housing) that houses the light source unit 400 .
A plurality of LEDs 402 of the light source unit 400 , which are emitted from the plurality of LEDs 402 of the light source unit 400 and transmitted through the light guide portions 301 b corresponding to the respective LEDs 402 , are emitted from the outer wall portion of the second housing 102 to the outside of the second housing 102 . is provided with an opening 102h.

As a result, in the computer 100 in which the light emitted from each LED 402 is emitted to the outside through the corresponding opening 102h of the second housing 102, the light emitted from each LED 402 is emitted from the corresponding opening 102h of the second housing 102. It is possible to suppress the emission to the outside through the opening 102h other than the opening 102h.

(9) In the computer 100 of this embodiment,
A base portion 301a (a base portion) of each light guide portion 301b is formed so as to be continuous with each light guide portion 301b using the same material as that of each light guide portion 301b.
The base portion 301a is formed larger than each opening 102h so that the front wall portion 302a of the optical member 300 is not visible from the outside of the second housing 102 through each opening 102h of the second housing 102 .

As a result, it is possible to prevent the appearance of the computer 100 from being spoiled.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, Embodiment 1 has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. are made as appropriate. Also, it is possible to combine the constituent elements described in the first embodiment to form a new embodiment. Therefore, other embodiments will be exemplified below.

(1) In the above embodiments, the case where the electronic device of the present disclosure is applied to a notebook computer has been described. However, the present disclosure is applicable to various electronic devices other than notebook computers, such as smartphones, tablet computers, portable game devices, Blu-ray recorders, and digital cameras.

As described above, the embodiment has been described as an example of the technique of the present disclosure. To that end, the accompanying drawings and detailed description have been provided. Therefore, among the components described in the attached drawings and detailed description, there are not only components essential for solving the problem, but also components not essential for solving the problem in order to illustrate the above technology. can also be included. Therefore, it should not be immediately recognized that those non-essential components are essential just because they are described in the attached drawings and detailed description. In addition, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology of the present disclosure, and various modifications, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. can be made within the scope of the claims or equivalents thereof.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present disclosure can be widely used in an optical member that emits light emitted from a plurality of light sources, a light source unit having the same, and an electronic device.

100 Computer 101 First housing 102 Second housing 102A Upper housing 102B Lower housing 102h Opening 102u Upper wall section 103 Hinge 231 Keyboard 232 Touch pad 233 Operation button 240 Display section 300 Optical member 301 Light transmission section 301a Base section 301b Light guide portion 302 Base 302a Front wall portion 302b Extension portion 302c Rear wall portion 302d Side wall portion 302e Groove portion 302f Ribs 302x, 302y Concave portion 400 Light source unit 401 Circuit board 402 LED
403 flexible circuit board

Claims (6)

a light source unit;
a housing that houses the light source unit;
with
The light source unit
An optical member that emits light emitted from a plurality of light sources spaced apart from each other and arranged in parallel through a plurality of light guide portions arranged to face the plurality of light sources.When,
a plurality of light sources arranged opposite to the plurality of light guide portions of the optical member,
The optical member is
the plurality of light guides;
a plate-like wall portion surrounding the plurality of light guide portions in a direction perpendicular to their optical axes;
has
the wall portion has a light transmittance lower than the light transmittance of the plurality of light guide portions;
The wall portion and the plurality of light guide portions are integrally formed by two-color molding using resin,
The wall portion is integrally formed with ribs for shielding the light emitted from the plurality of light sources from entering the light guide portions other than the light guide portions arranged opposite to the respective light sources.Cage,
An outer wall portion of the housing is provided with a plurality of openings for emitting light emitted from the plurality of light sources of the light source unit and transmitted through the light guide portions corresponding to the respective light sources to the outside of the housing. and
A base portion of each light guide section is formed so as to be continuous with each light guide section using the same material as that of each light guide section,
The base portion is formed larger than each opening so that the wall portion of the optical member is not visible from the outside of the housing through each opening of the housing.
Electronics. The rib protrudes from between the plurality of light guide portions toward between the arrangement positions of the plurality of light sources and is interposed between the arrangement positions of the plurality of light sources,
The electronic device according to claim 1. The light transmittance of the wall is zero,
The electronic device according to claim 2. further comprising a circuit board on which the plurality of light sources are mounted;
a tip of the rib is close to the circuit board;
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . further comprising a circuit board on which the plurality of light sources are mounted;
a tip of the rib is in contact with the circuit board;
The electronic device according to claim 4 . The optical member has a holding portion that holds the circuit board so that the distance between the tip of the rib and the circuit board does not widen.
The electronic device according to claim 4 or 5 .

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