JPH0587762U - Control panel operation buttons - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] In an operation panel of the type in which the light emitting part provided in the internal switch emits light when the operation button is operated and the light reaches the operation button, the operation button has a specific color in the off state and is turned on. Make sure that the brightness of the color emitted from the operation button is sufficient in this state. [Structure] A colored portion is formed on the side wall of the operation button, and natural light transmitted through the colored portion is scattered inside the operation button to make the operation button colored. When the switch is turned on, the light from the light emitting portion of the operation button is turned on. It is configured to reach the surface of the operation button without being affected by the colored portion.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Usage field]

 The present invention has a built-in operation button of the operation panel, in particular, a switch having a light emitting unit, and the actuator of this switch can be operated by the operation button provided on the operation panel, and the light from the light emitting unit can be operated by the operation button. It relates to the operation buttons on the operation panel that are scattered in the section.

[0002]

[Prior art and problems]

 Generally, a plurality of operation buttons are arranged on the operation panel. And, recently, a device in which the operation button is configured to emit light has become widespread. In this type of operation unit, a switch actuator equipped with a light emitting unit is arranged on the electronic board built into the operation panel in correspondence with the operation buttons, and this switch is mounted on the front panel of the operation panel. The operation button is configured to be turned on and off, and the operation button is made of a semi-transparent material. By pushing the operation button, the operation button pushes the actuator and the light from the light emitting portion of the switch is operated. Scatter with buttons.

Therefore, even when installed in a dark place, it is easy to determine which operation button has been operated. However, in the case of an operation panel having a plurality of operation buttons, each operation button may be color-coded according to its function. In such a case, it may be possible to color the surface of the operation button.However, in such a case, the brightness of the operation button surface in the on state is reduced because the amount of transmitted light in the on state is attenuated by the colored portion. Will be insufficient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and "the operation button provided so as to be exposed on the surface of the operation panel is made to face the actuator of the switch built in the operation panel, Is equipped with a light-emitting part that emits light when the switch is in a conductive state, and the light from the light-emitting part is scattered on the surface of the operation button. The challenge is to make the surface of the operation button bright enough while it is in the colored state.

[0005]

[Technical means]

 The technical means of the present invention taken to solve the above-mentioned problem is that "the operation button is composed of a substantially transparent semi-transparent body, and its peripheral side wall is colored".

[0006]

[Action]

 The above technical means of the present invention operates as follows. When the switch is turned on and off by operating the operation button and the switch is on, the light from the light emitting part of the switch passes through the operation button. At this time, since the operation button is semitransparent, scattered light is emitted on the surface part.

Now, when the switch is off, the light emitting portion does not emit light, but since the operation button is semitransparent, natural light enters the operation button. Of these, natural light entering from the outer peripheral portion of the operation button passes through the colored portion on the peripheral side wall and reaches the inside of the operation button. Therefore, the operation button made of a translucent material scatters the light transmitted through the colored portion, and the surface of the operation button is similar to the color of the colored portion.

When the switch is in the ON state and the light from the light emitting unit reaches the operation button, natural light does not pass through the operation button, and the color from the colored portion of the operation button disappears and the light is emitted from the light emitting unit of the switch. Only the light is scattered on the surface of the operation button. At this time, the entire light from the light emitting portion reaches the surface of the operation button without being affected by the colored portion.

[0009]

【effect】

 The present invention, having the above-described configuration, has the following unique effect. In the off state, the surface is colored as if the surface of the operation button was worn, and in the on state, the light from the light emitting part of the switch is not affected by the colored part provided on the peripheral side wall of the operation button. The brightness of the surface of the operation button in the ON state is sufficient because everything reaches the surface of the operation button.

[0010]

【Example】

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 2 of the embodiment is configured to include a plurality of operation buttons 1 and 1, and the surface plate 21 thereof has a number of transparent buttons corresponding to the number of the operation buttons 1 and 1. The holes 22, 22 are formed. The through hole 22 is configured as a through hole having an enlarged hole portion 23 on the back surface. The operation button 1 of this embodiment is composed of a main button 1a exposed from the front surface plate 21 of the operation panel 2 and an auxiliary button 1b facing the back surface of the main button 1a.

Each through hole 22 accommodates a main button 1 a having a flange 13 protruding from the back surface. At this time, the flange 13 is housed in the enlarged hole portion 23. On the back surface of the main button 1a, the inner peripheral region of the flange 13 is a gentle spherical surface that is convex downward, and the boundary between this spherical portion and the flange 13 is a tapered surface T that expands downward. is there. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a colored portion 1c is formed on the peripheral side wall of the main button 1a which is continuous with the exposed plane.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b, 1b of this embodiment are integrally connected to each other to have a plate-like shape, and are made of semitransparent silicon. And has elasticity. Then, the plate-like body S is integrally formed by injection molding or the like, the annular seal portion 12 is connected to the outer peripheral region of each auxiliary button 1b, and the connecting piece 14 is formed between the annular seal portions 12 and 12. Are linked by.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the auxiliary buttons 1b has a convex lens shape as a whole, with the back surface having a substantially conical shape and the surface having a gentle spherical shape, and the top section of the back surface having a substantially conical shape is an arc shape. Is becoming An annular extension 15 is formed on the periphery of the auxiliary button 1b, and the upper surface of the annular extension 15 and the center of the spherical portion of the upper surface of the auxiliary button 1b are set to be on the same plane. There is.

The annular seal portion 12 is continuously provided on the peripheral edge of the annular thin-walled portion 11 which is tapered downward and expands from the peripheral edge of the annular extension portion 15. Therefore, there is a certain height difference between the upper surface of the annular seal portion 12 and the upper surface of the annular extension portion 15. Further, the inner diameter of the annular extension 15 and that of the flange 13 are matched. The main button 1a and the auxiliary button 1b having the above-mentioned configuration are mounted on the surface plate 21 of the operation panel 2, but in this embodiment, the main button 1a is housed in each through hole 22 and a plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b and 1b are connected. The sheet-like plate-shaped body S is attached and fixed to the back surface of the front plate 21.

Therefore, the mounting plate 4 as shown in FIG. 5 is adopted. This mounting plate 4 is provided with a plurality of openings 41, 41 adapted to the annular seal portion 12 as shown in the figure, and a pressing portion 42 is further provided on the outer circumference of the thin portion formed on the outer circumference of the opening. The plate-like body is screwed to the back surface of the front plate 21 at a plurality of points. Therefore, a through hole or a notch for fixing the screw is formed in the plate body S.

The operation panel 2 has a configuration in which an electronic substrate 30 is housed in a casing formed of a dish-shaped front surface plate 21 that opens downward and a dish-shaped rear surface plate 24 that opens upward. A plurality of switches 3 and 3 are arranged on the surface of the device at positions facing the auxiliary buttons 1b. Therefore, with the front surface plate 21 and the rear surface plate 24 opened, the electronic board 30 is attached to the rear surface plate 24, the main buttons 1a are housed in the respective through holes 22 of the front surface plate 21, and the plate-shaped body S is inserted from the rear surface thereof. When this plate-like body S is attached to the front surface plate 21 by the mounting plate 4 attached thereto, the pressing portions 42 press the annular seal portions 12, 12 between the rear surface of the front surface plate 21 and the auxiliary buttons 1b. Is fixed so that the through hole 22 is closed, and in this state, the annular seal portion 12 is brought into close contact with the back surface of the front plate 21. Then, the auxiliary button 1b projects from each opening 41 of the mounting plate 4.

At this time, since there is a difference in height between the upper surface of the annular seal portion 12 and the upper surface of the annular extension portion 15, the annular thin portion 11 is attached in a compressed state, and the auxiliary button 1b faces upward. The urging force of the mushroom is working. Since the diameter of the flange 13 and that of the annular extension 15 are the same, the upper surface of the flange 13 is set in contact with the upper wall of the enlarged hole 23 as shown in FIG. That is, the main button 1a is lifted upward by the urging force corresponding to the elastic force of the annular thin portion 11. Further, since there is a fitting margin between the outer periphery of the operation button 1 and the through hole 22, there is a slight gap on the outer periphery of the peripheral side wall of the operation button 1.

As described above, the operation panel 2 is completed by covering the front plate 21 having the plate-like body S attached thereto with the rear plate 24 having the electronic substrate 30 and connecting the two. At this time, as shown in the figure, the conical top on the back surface of the auxiliary button 1b is set in a state of facing and approaching the actuator 31 of the switch 3, and when the main button 1a is pushed in, the auxiliary button 1b is interlocked with this. The cone-shaped top pushes in 31, the light emitting portion 32 lights up, and the switch is operated. Further, in the off state, natural light entering from the outer peripheral gap of the main button 1a passes through the colored portion 1c and the main button 1a, then reaches the surface of the main button 1a and is scattered at this portion. It becomes the hue corresponding to the coloring of.

In this structure, the main button 1a is made of a transparent material made of acrylic resin, which is a hard material, and the surface thereof is textured. The auxiliary button 1b is semi-transparent. Therefore, the light from the light emitting portion 32 of the switch 3 is uniformly scattered on the entire exposed portion of the main button 1a. Even if the operation button 1 has a double structure, both are convex lenses, so that the light from the light emitting section 32 can be efficiently and reliably collected within the range of the main button 1a.

Further, in this embodiment, since the back surface side of the through hole 22 for accommodating the main button 1a is closed and sealed by the auxiliary button 1b, the annular thin portion 11 and the annular seal portion 12, it is waterproof. Certainly. In addition, the height difference between both ends of the cross section of the annular thin portion 11 with the main button 1a attached to the surface plate 21 is set to a predetermined value in relation to the operation stroke of the main button 1a for operating the switch 3. Even when the main button 1a is pushed in, the inner peripheral edge of the annular thin portion 11 is located above the outer peripheral edge. Therefore, when the operation force of the main button 1a is released, the main biasing force of the annular thin portion 11 of the auxiliary button 1b made of an elastic material causes the main button 1a overlapping therewith to automatically return to the initial position. Even if the main button 1a is pushed for a predetermined stroke or longer, the auxiliary button 1b has flexibility so that the switch 3 is not overloaded.

In the above embodiment, the operation button 1 is composed of the main button 1a and the auxiliary button 1b. However, the operation button 1 made of one member operates the switch 3 having the light emitting section 32. Good. In addition, as a method of making the operation button 1 semi-transparent, not only is the entire body made of a semi-transparent material, but at least the operation surface of the operation button 1 made of a transparent body is textured, and It may be translucent. Further, as a method of applying the return urging force of the operation button 1, another known method can be adopted.

The following combinations of color tones of the colored portion 1c of the operation button and light to be emitted from the light emitting portion 32 can be considered. ． When the color of the colored part 1c and the color of the light from the light emitting part 32 are the same In this case, if a plurality of operation buttons are arranged in different colors according to their functions, the color of each operation button can be changed between the on and off states. Both are almost the same, and the hue and function correspond, which is convenient. Further, on / off of the switch can be discriminated on the basis of the light emitting state and the non-light emitting state.

In some cases, a plurality of operation buttons may be arranged in the same color. Further, a usage mode in which some of the plurality of operation buttons in the plurality of operation button groups are arranged in the same color is also conceivable. ． When the color of the colored part 1c and the color of the light from the light emitting part 32 are different Whether the operation button is operated or the switch is operated when the operation button is arranged or the operation button is single. Since the color of the operation button differs depending on when it is turned on and when it is turned off, it is possible to clearly distinguish between on and off even in a relatively bright place. When the operation buttons have the same color in the ON state and the OFF state, it may be difficult to distinguish between the two states in a relatively bright place. However, when the operation buttons are made different as described above, such an inconvenience does not occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Fig.1] Sectional view of the main part of the operation panel 2

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main button 1a.

FIG. 3 is a plate-like body S having a plurality of auxiliary buttons 1b, 1b.
Top view of

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the plate-like body S.

[Fig. 5] Plan view of the mounting plate 4

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Operating button 1c ... Coloring part

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An operation button provided so as to be exposed on a surface of an operation panel is opposed to an actuator of a switch built in the operation panel, and the switch is provided with a light emitting portion which emits light in a switch conducting state. In the operation button of the operation panel, which is configured to scatter the light from the light emitting portion on the surface of the operation button, the operation button is composed of a substantially colorless translucent body, and its peripheral side wall is colored.