JPH0355986Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a light guide element for a display panel, particularly to a light guide element used in a device that shares another light emitting element.

[Prior Art] Display panels are widely used in various types of equipment, such as audio equipment or air conditioning equipment, to indicate the equipment control status.

For example, an automobile is equipped with an air conditioning control device that changes the air conditioning state in the vehicle interior, and this control device uses various push button switches or slide switches to change the mode, air volume, or temperature. ing.

Display panels are installed near these switches to show the switching status of the switches, and to inform the driver of the switch position or operating status even when the surroundings are dark, such as at night or when driving in a tunnel. A light source such as a lamp is usually provided inside the display panel, and is turned on as needed to improve visibility of switch operation status.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional vehicle air conditioning control system, where A is a front view and B is a front view.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view on the B line.

In the illustrated example, wind direction mode switching buttons 12a, 12b and a temperature setting slide knob 14 are formed protruding from the front surface of the housing 10.

and the wind direction mode switching button 12a,
A display panel 16 is provided at the top of 12b, and schematically displays the functions of each switching button.

FIG. 5B shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vehicle air conditioning control device, and as is clear from the figure, a push button switch 18 is disposed inside the changeover button 12, and a switch knob 18a of the switch 18 is provided. is in contact with the inner end of the housing of the switching button 12.

Therefore, by pushing in and returning the switching button 12, switching control of the push button switch 18 is performed via the switch knob 18a, and a predetermined wind direction mode control can be performed.

By the way, as mentioned above, the switching button 12
A display panel 16 is provided on the top of the display panel 16, and the display panel 16 is made of a transparent or semi-transparent material.

A lamp 20 provided within the housing
Illumination light can be emitted through the light guide element 22, and good visibility of the display panel 16 can be maintained by turning on the lamp 20 at night. Here, the light guide element 22 is provided to spread the illumination light from the lamp 20 over the entire horizontally long display panel 16, as shown in FIG. Made of transparent resin with wing-shaped parts.

Therefore, the display panel 16 is illuminated almost uniformly by one lamp 20.

By the way, while driving at night, it is of course important to display the position and function of each switching button with light, but on the other hand, it becomes difficult to determine whether the switching button 12 itself is pressed or returned. Therefore, an indicator mechanism is provided to clarify the control status of the device.

In the illustrated example, an indicator 24 made of a transparent member is provided at the tip of the switching button 12, and an indicator 24 made of a transparent member is further provided in the housing 10 near the indicator member 24.
LED26 is arranged.

Then, when the switching button 12 is pressed and a predetermined circuit switching is performed, the corresponding LED 2
6 lights up, indicating that the switching button 12 is in the push-in operation state.

Therefore, even at night, the operator can recognize the position and type of the switching button by looking at the display panel 16, and can recognize the switching button by looking at the light emitting state of the indicator 24 provided at the tip of the switching button 12. It is possible to recognize the pressed state, that is, the circuit switching state.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] Problems of the prior art By the way, as mentioned above, each switching button 12
In order to provide the LED 26 corresponding to the
In order to position and fix the LED holders 28 at predetermined positions, it is necessary to attach and fix each LED holder 28 on the board 30 inside the housing 10, which poses problems in that the number of parts increases and the assembly becomes complicated.

In particular, in the case of the above-mentioned vehicle air conditioning control device, the display panel 16 and the switching button 12 need to be close to each other.
The LED holder 28 and the like had to be positioned extremely close to each other and accurately, making the structure complicated and causing a decrease in assembly work efficiency.

Purpose of the invention The present invention was made in view of the problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a light guide element for a display panel that can simplify the structure inside the device and reduce the number of parts. There is a particular thing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above object, a light guide element of a display panel according to the present invention includes a light guide element part and a light emitting element holding part.

The light guide element part includes a light input part into which illumination light enters, a light output part which directs the illumination light toward the display panel and outputs the light, and a light guide which guides the illumination light from the light input part to the light output part. and has.

Further, the light emitting element holding section is formed integrally with the light guiding element section.

[Function] Since the light guide element of the display panel according to the present invention has the above-mentioned means, the light guide element part guides illumination light to a predetermined display panel in the same way as a normal light guide element, and the light guide element A light emitting element provided in close proximity to the light guide element is held by a light emitting element holding part integrally formed with the light guiding element.

Therefore, the light emitting element holding portion does not need to be formed from an independently provided LED holder or the like as in the prior art, and the number of parts can be reduced. Moreover, the relatively large light guiding element part and the light emitting element holding part, which conventionally had to be made small, are integrally formed and can be assembled all at once.
The ease of assembly is also greatly improved.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a light guiding element according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

A characteristic feature of the present invention is that the light guide element part and the light emitting element holding part are integrally formed. Therefore, in the light guide element according to this embodiment as well, the light guide element part 100 emits light at the lower part of the light guide element part 100. The element holding portion 102 is integrally formed.

In this embodiment, a fitting hole into which a lamp (not shown) is fitted is formed in the light guide element section 100 on the rear side at the substantially center thereof, and the fitting hole serves as a light entrance section 154 through which illumination light enters.

Further, on the front side of the light guide element section 100, a light emitting section 156 is formed that projects parabolically from the center, and the light emitting section 156 is located on the back surface of the display panel (not shown).

A light guide path 158 is formed from the light input section 154 toward the light output section 156.

On the other hand, the light emitting element holding portion 102 has an L-shaped notch formed in its front upper part.

The notch bottom surface 160 has a predetermined position.
Lead groove 162a for attaching the LED lead wire,
162b,...162h are formed.

Further, in correspondence with the lead groove 162, a lead hole 166 is formed from the notch rear surface 164 toward the back surface of the holding portion 102, through which the LED lead wire passes.

This situation is clearly shown in FIG. 1B. As is clear from the figure, the front end of the holding part 102
An LED 126 is arranged, and a lead wire 126a of the LED 126 is guided to the rear surface of the holding portion 102 through a lead groove 162 and a lead hole 166.

In this way, the lead wire 126a of the LED 126
Since the lead wire is bent twice at approximately right angles in the middle, it is possible to prevent the LED 126 from wobbling even if tension is applied to the tip of the lead wire.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the light guiding element formed as described above is used in a vehicle air conditioning control device, and FIG. 2A is a front view thereof, and B is a side sectional view thereof.

As is clear from the figure, whereas conventional light guide elements and multiple LED holders are required, according to the element according to this embodiment, only one light guide element is installed and fixed inside the housing 110. The display panel 116 can be illuminated and the indicators 124 provided on each switching button 112 can emit light.

Moreover, the light guiding element according to this example is as shown in FIG.
As is clear from the above, the indicator 124 is
It is formed laterally longer than the LED 126. Therefore, even if LED126 is not lit,
If the lamp 120 is lit, the light guide element section 10
0. Illumination light is guided through the light emitting element holding part 102 and leaks toward the indicator 124 from the tip of the light emitting element holding part 102, so that the indicator 124 can emit faint light.

Therefore, the indicator of a switching button that is pressed in is illuminated strongly by the LED, and the indicator of a switching button that is not pressed in is illuminated faintly, so the advantage is that the position of the switching button that is not operated is also extremely clear. has.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG.

Note that parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are indicated by the reference numeral 100, and their explanation will be omitted.

A characteristic feature of this embodiment is that a switching button 212-1 is provided on the front and top surface of the housing 210.
212-2 is formed, display panels 216-1 and 216-2 are provided at the tip of each switching button, and each display panel has one light guide element to guide illumination light.

In this embodiment, respective switching buttons 212-1 and 212-2 are provided on the board 230.
Push button switch 2 with the switch knob in contact with
18-1 and 218-2 are provided.

Moreover, the light guide element part 20 of the light guide element according to the present invention
0, a lamp 220 provided on a substrate 230
A light guide path is provided toward each of the display panels 216-1 and 216-2, and a light output portion is formed at the tip of each light guide path.

Furthermore, the push-in/return state of the switching button 212-1 is displayed via the indicator 224 by turning on/off the LED 226.

Here, the LED 226 is held by passing its lead wire through a lead hole 266 provided in the light emitting element holding part that protrudes above the light guide path of the light guide element part.

As explained above, according to the light guide element according to this embodiment, the display panels 216-1 and 216-2 on the switching buttons 212-1 and 212-2 formed in two directions from one lamp 220 can be It has the advantage that it is possible to illuminate the switch, and it is also possible to easily hold the LED that displays the operation status of the switching button.

Next, a light guiding element according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIG. Note that the parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are indicated by the reference numeral 200, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

A feature of this embodiment is that even when a lead hole for a light emitting element (LED) needs to be provided in the light guide path of the light guide element, as in the case of the second embodiment, the formation is facilitated. It's what I did.

That is, unless the lead hole through which the LED lead wire passes is formed extremely thin, the effect of supporting the LED will be diminished.

On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to form fine lead holes through a thick light guide path.

Therefore, the above problem can be solved by forming only the light guide path portion that forms the light emitting element holding portion to be thin, but in this case, the loss of illumination light occurs due to this portion, and the light is emitted from the light emitting portion. This causes unevenness in the illumination light.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a notch is provided in the vicinity of the light emitting element holding portion of the light guide path, and a reflective surface is formed in the direction of the light incident portion of the notch.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the light guide path 3
Notches 380 and 382 are formed on both sides of the protruding portion of the light emitting element holding portion 302 of 58, and the LED 3
26 lead wires 326a pass through the lead hole 36
The thickness of the portion where No. 6 is formed is extremely small.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the light emitting section 356
a and the notch 3 formed between the light entrance part 354
80 and 382 are formed obliquely toward the light input section 354.

Therefore, the illumination light from the lamp 320 is reflected on the slopes of the notches 380 and 382, as shown in _L1 , and reaches the light output section 356a.

Therefore, even though the light guide path is provided with a notch, the light guide element according to this embodiment hardly causes any loss of illumination light.

In this embodiment, the light emitting portions are provided at several locations 35 so as to make a part of the display panel particularly bright.
It is divided into 6a, 356b, 356c...
A light guide path 358 is used to guide light to the side light output section 356c.
A slope portion 358a is provided at the slope portion 358a, and the illumination light _L2 is reflected at the slope portion 358a.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the light guide element of the display panel according to the present invention includes a light guide element portion that guides illumination light toward the display panel, and a light emitting element holding portion that holds the light emitting element. Since they are integrally formed, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and improve ease of assembly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the light guide element of the display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the usage state of the light guide element according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. An explanatory diagram of a light guide element according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a light guide element according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a light guide element according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a light guiding element used in the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. 100, 200, 300...light guide element section, 10
2,202,302...Light emitting element holding part, 12
6,226,326...Light emitting element (LED), 15
4,354...Light entrance part, 156,256,356
...Light output section, 158,258,358...Light guide path.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A light input part into which illumination light enters, a light output part which directs the illumination light toward a display panel and outputs the light, and guides the illumination light from the light input part to the light output part. A display panel comprising: a light guide element section having a light guide path; and a light emitting element holding section integrally formed with the light guide element section and positioning and holding the light emitting element at a predetermined position. Light guiding element. (2) Utility Model Registration In the device according to claim 1, the light emitting element holding portion is disposed close to a push button provided near the display panel, and the light emitting element held by the light emitting element holding portion is formed on the push button. A light guide element for a display panel, characterized in that it emits a light-emitting indicator. (3) Utility model registration The device according to Claim 2 is characterized in that the tip of the light emitting element holding portion is formed larger than the light emitting element, and illumination light can be leaked from the tip of the light emitting device holding portion toward the indicator. light guide element for display panels. (4) Utility model registration The device according to claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the light guide path is formed to protrude in a plurality of directions, and the light emitting portion provided at the tip of each light guide illuminates a separate display panel. A light guide element for a display panel. (5) Utility model registration In the device according to claims 1 to 4, the light emitting element holding part is formed to protrude from the light guide path, and the light emitting element lead wire through hole is formed in the vicinity of the light emitting element holding part of the light guide path. A light guide element for a display panel characterized by the following. (6) In the device according to claim 5 of the utility model registration, the lead wire through hole of the light emitting device is provided in a notch formed in the light guide path, and the surface of the notch opposite the light entrance portion receives illumination light. 1. A light guide element for a display panel, characterized in that the light guide element is formed in a slope shape so as to reflect light toward an output portion.