JPH0455382Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Summary] Even if the internal light source position of an internally illuminated button in which the through-holes of letters, etc. are filled with colored semi-transparent potting material is not on the axis of the through-hole, it can be overlapped with the potting material. By forming a colorless and transparent potting material layer for light guiding, it is possible to provide clear character illumination at low cost.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an internally illuminated button that uses an internal light source to illuminate a through hole for letters, etc. formed in an operating section.

When a pushbutton inside a device is operated by a pushbutton exposed from the front panel, it is common to display characters or the like on the front panel or the pushbutton itself to distinguish the function of each pushbutton.

Internally illuminated buttons are such displays that are illuminated by an internal light source, and are used to confirm whether a switch is on or off, or to confirm the position of a button at night.

[Prior Art] A conventional internally illuminated button has an illumination structure as shown in FIG. 3a or b. For the button 10 of a, when the collar part 1 and the operating part 2 are integrally formed with an opaque material (for example, ABS resin colored black), a through hole 3 for letters etc. is formed on the front surface of the operating part 2. Then, the through hole 3 is filled with a thin layer of translucent potting material 4 which is later colored in a display color such as white or green.

In b, instead of the potting material 4, an acrylic plate 5 colored in the indicated color is fitted using a two-color molding technique.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

The potting method shown in Fig. 3a is good when the internal light source 20 is located at the position of the solid line close to the center axis of the through hole 3 (letters, etc. appear to emit light uniformly in the color of the potting material 4), but if multiple buttons If the light source 20 is shifted to the dashed line position, such as when the light source 20 is shared, the light source 2
Since the light from 0 is partially blocked by the corners of the flange 1, creating shadows and unable to pass through the through holes 3 evenly, there is a drawback that brightness and darkness occur in the display viewed from the surface.

On the other hand, in method b, the acrylic plate 5 has a light guide function, so if the acrylic plate 5 protrudes as shown by the dotted line, the through hole 3 can be evenly illuminated even if the light source 20 is far from the button 10. however,
This method requires a separate mold for molding the acrylic plate 5 in addition to the mold for molding the collar portion 1 and the operating portion 2, which results in high costs when manufacturing small lots.

The present invention improves the potting method and proposes an internally illuminated button suitable for small lots.

[Means to solve the problem]

Figure 1 is a diagram of the principle of the present invention, and 1 to 4 are Figure 3 a.
The same as each part. In the present invention, a colorless and transparent second potting material 6 (e.g., epoxy material with extremely low shrinkage rate) is placed behind the first potting material 4 (colored and translucent, and this color becomes the text color of the button). It is thickly filled with.

Since it is a potting material, the layers 4 and 6 are formed by pouring it into the inner recess of the operating section 2.
The layer 6 cannot be made to protrude beyond the flange 1 because it will overflow, but if it is filled to the extent that it is flush with the flange 1, it will form a slightly concave surface and become almost flush with the flange 1 as shown.

[Effect]

Since the second potting material 6 produces a light guiding effect similar to that of the acrylic plate 5 in FIG. I can do it.

Moreover, since only one type of mold is required, small-lot production can be carried out at a lower cost than the two-color molding method.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, a
1 is an assembled perspective view, b is a partially sectional side view, and c is a sectional view taken along the line A-A. In the figure, 30 is a front decoration plate, 31 is a round hole into which the volume knob 41 is inserted, and 32A and 32B are square holes that expose the operation parts of the push buttons 10A and 10B. The knob 41 is fitted onto the shaft of the volume 42. 43 is front plate 3
0, 21 and 22 are light sources (light emitting diodes) therefor, 51 is a printed circuit board on which light sources 20 to 22 and push switches 52A and 52B are mounted, 53
54 is a housing, 55 is a cover, and 56 is a screw for attaching the front plate 30 to the housing 54.

Each button 10 is arranged so that the switch 52 can be pressed with its collar 1, as shown in b. One button 10A is formed with a through hole 3 in which the number "1" is displayed, such as a, and the other button 10
A through hole 3 with the number "2" is formed in B.
The light source 20 (light emitting diode) is button 10 as shown in c.
It is placed between A and 10B and is shared for illuminating both buttons.

Therefore, although the position of the light source 20 with respect to each button 10 is shifted as shown in FIG. 1, the first potting material 4 filled in the character hole 3 is efficiently illuminated.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the light guide portion is formed of a potting material that does not require a mold, it is possible to manufacture a small lot of internally illuminated buttons at low cost. Moreover, the display illuminated by the light guiding effect of the potting material is uniform and as clear as a two-color molded product.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a conventional button lighting structure. In the figure, 1 is the collar, 2 is the operation part, 3 is the through hole, and 4
is the first potting material, and 6 is the second potting material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It is an internally illuminated button made of opaque material,
A through hole 3 for characters etc. is formed on the front surface of the hollow operation part 2, and a colored semi-transparent first potting material 4 is filled from inside the operation part 2 so as to fill the through hole 3, and then This internally illuminated button is characterized in that one side of the button is filled with a colorless and transparent second potting material 6.