JPH0355223Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a non-contact switch device that uses light.

(Prior Art) As one means for making a switch contactless, it has been considered to combine a light emitting diode and a phototransistor. As an example of this type of switch device, conventionally, a light guide member made of plastic or an optical fiber is used to form an optical path between a light emitting diode and a phototransistor, and a light guide member that appears in and out of this optical path according to manual operation is used. Some have a configuration with a shielding plate.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The conventional switch device described above has a problem in that the light emitting diode must be kept on standby at all times, and its power consumption is large.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce power consumption with a simple configuration, and to increase the degree of freedom regarding the arrangement of light receiving elements for generating switching signals. To provide a non-contact type switch device that exhibits the following effects.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problems) A switch device according to the invention includes a light guide member that guides light incident from a predetermined light input end face to a light output end face, and a light guide member that guides the light that has entered from a predetermined light input end face to a light output end face. A light-receiving element that is arranged to be able to receive light from the end face and generates a switching signal in the light-receiving state, and a phosphor that constantly emits fluorescence when combined with a radioactive element; an operating member that is held in an upper position not facing the light-entering end surface and displaces the phosphor to a lower position facing the light-entering end surface only when pressed; and a light-shielding layer formed on the lower surface of the phosphor; This is a configuration in which it is provided.

(Function) When the operation member is not operated, the phosphor is held at an upper position not facing the light entrance end surface of the light guide member, so that light from the phosphor does not enter the light guide member. Therefore, the light receiving element is in a non-light receiving state and no switching signal is output. Furthermore, when the operating member is operated with a finger or the like, the phosphor is displaced to a lower position facing the light entrance end surface of the light guide member, so that the light receiving element receives the light from the phosphor through the light guide member. The light receiving element begins to receive light, and a switching signal is output from the light receiving element.

(Embodiment) In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a light guide plate as a light guide member, which is made of, for example, transparent plastic and formed into a rectangular flat plate shape. The light guide plate 1 has a light entrance end face 1c formed by forming, for example, a rectangular through hole 1a in the center thereof, and the right edge in the figure is cut off. By forming a light guide plate 1 on the edge thereof,
A reflective surface 1b is formed as an end surface for light output, forming an angle of 45 degrees with the upper and lower surfaces of the light emitting device. 2 is light guide plate 1
A light-shielding plate is placed on top of the light-shielding plate, and is made of, for example, a light-shielding plastic material and is formed into a rectangular flat plate shape similar to the light guide plate 1.
Further, in the center of the light shielding plate 2, the through hole 1a is provided.
A through hole 2a is formed in a shape that matches the shape of the hole 2a. 3
is a spacer arranged in an overlapping manner on the light-shielding plate 2, which is formed, for example, from a light-shielding plastic material into a rectangular frame shape having the same outer shape as the light-shielding plate 2; A space 4 communicating with the through holes 1a and 2a is formed inside.
Reference numeral 5 designates an operation plate as an operation member disposed in an overlapping manner on the spacer 3. This is formed, for example, from an elastic plastic film into a rectangular shape having the same external shape as the spacer 3.

Now, reference numeral 6 denotes a rectangular flat plate-shaped phosphor that is provided in combination with natural radioactive elements to emit fluorescence at all times.
It is integrally attached through the hole 2a, and is provided so as to be located within the through hole 2a. At this time, the phosphor 6 is set so that its lower surface is held at least at a position above the upper surface of the light guide plate 1, that is, at a position above the light input end surface 1c and not facing the light input end surface 1c. , so that the emitted light does not enter into the light guide plate 1 under normal conditions. Further, a light-shielding layer 8 is provided on the lower surface of the phosphor 6 by printing black paint or adhering a light-shielding film. In this case, the operation panel 5
When the central part of the light guide plate 1 is pressed with a finger or the like, the operation plate 5 is elastically deformed as shown in FIG. The light guide plate 1 is now displaced to a lower position opposite to the light guide plate 1c, so that the light emitted from the phosphor 6 enters into the light guide plate 1. When the pressing operation is released from this state, the operating plate 5 is deformed back to the state shown in FIG. 1. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rectangular reinforcing plate narrower than the light guide plate 1, which is attached to the lower surface of the light guide plate 1 with a member facing the reflective surface 1b remaining.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a light receiving element, for example a phototransistor, which is installed so as to face the reflective surface 1b of the light guide plate 1 from below. As a result, when the light enters the light guide plate 1,
The light is reflected by the reflective surface 1b, and the reflected light is received by the phototransistor 10.
Although not shown, the phototransistor 10
is configured to generate a switching signal in the light receiving state. In addition, the light guide plate 1, the light shielding plate 2,
The spaces between the spacer 3, the operation plate 5, and the reinforcing plate 9 may be fixed, for example, by adhesive, or by a holder that clamps each peripheral portion.

According to the above configuration, in the non-operating state, that is, in the state in which the operating plate 5 is not deformed by pressure as shown in FIG. Since the light emitted from the phosphor 6 does not enter the light guide plate 1, the phototransistor 10 is in a non-light receiving state and no switching signal is output. Also, when the center of the operation panel 5 is pressed,
As shown in FIG. 3, the phosphor 6 comes to be displaced to a lower position facing the light entrance end surface 1c of the light guide plate 1. Then, as shown by the arrow in the figure, light from the phosphor 6 enters the light guide plate 1, is reflected by the reflective surface 1b, and is received by the phototransistor 10. Therefore, a switching signal is output from the phototransistor 10 in response to a pressing operation on the central portion of the operation panel 5, and such an output state returns to the state shown in FIG. 1 when the pressing operation is released. It will be stopped when the

According to the present embodiment described above, the phosphor 6, which is combined with a natural radioactive element and is provided to constantly emit fluorescence, is used as a light source, so it is different from the conventional structure using a light emitting diode as a light source. Power consumption does not increase. In addition, it is sufficient to provide only one light guide plate 1 as an optical path forming member, and the light guide plate 1, light shielding plate 2, spacer 3, which each have a simple shape and are relatively inexpensive,
It is an extremely low-cost and simple configuration of just overlapping the operation plate 5 and the reinforcing plate 9, and of course, the structure of the movable parts is also extremely simple, promoting miniaturization and thinning of the whole. It is possible. Furthermore, in this case, it is sufficient to simply overlap the above-mentioned parts, and since these parts can be manufactured using only press technology, the productivity can be dramatically increased. Furthermore, by modifying the shapes of the light guide plate 1, the light shielding plate 2, etc., it can be easily configured as a multiple switch, which has the advantage of greatly widening the range of applications.

Further, since the phototransistor 10 for generating a switching signal is configured to receive light from the phosphor 6, which is a light source, not directly but through the light guide plate 1, the phototransistor 10
There is an advantage that the placement location of 0 can be set relatively freely, and this makes it easy to connect the phototransistor 10 and its related circuits and to easily design the layout of the related circuits.

In the above embodiment, the reflective surface 1b is provided on the light guide plate 1 to form the end surface for light output, but this reflective surface is not necessarily necessary. For example, the phototransistor 10 is shown in FIG. When arranged as shown by the dotted chain line, the outer peripheral end face of the light guide plate 1 can be used as a light output end face, so it is not necessary.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and the shape of the light guide member may be modified, for example by using an optical fiber as the light guide member. Various modifications can be made without departing from the above.

[Effects of the invention] As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention is a non-contact type switching device that uses light, but it has a simple configuration that reduces power consumption, and it also has the ability to transmit switching signals. This has the practical effect of increasing the degree of freedom regarding the arrangement of light-receiving elements for generating light.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in a different state from FIG. 1. In the figure, 1 is a light guide plate (light guide member), 1b is a reflective surface (light output end face), 1c is a light input end face, 2 is a light shielding plate, 3 is a spacer, 5 is an operation plate (operation member),
6 is a phosphor, 8 is a light shielding layer, 9 is a reinforcing plate, and 10 is a phototransistor (light receiving element).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a light guide member configured to guide light incident from a predetermined light input end surface to a light output end surface;
It integrally includes a light-receiving element that is arranged to receive light from the light-emitting end face of the light guide member and generates a switching signal in the light-receiving state, and a phosphor that constantly emits fluorescence when combined with a radioactive element. an operating member that holds the phosphor at an upper position not facing the light-entering end face and displaces the phosphor to a lower position facing the light-entering end face only when pressed; 1. A switch device comprising a light shielding layer formed on a lower surface.