JPH08220537A - Device having liquid crystal display - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make a device small in size, and try to save much power by commonly using a light emission body both for making it easy to see a liquid crystal display means and for illuminating operation buttons. CONSTITUTION: The device is made up of a liquid crystal display means 1, a light emission body 2 for making it easy to see the liquid crystal display means 1, operation buttons 3, and of wave guidepipe 5 for guiding light emitted from the light emission body 2 to the operation buttons 3. Light emitted from the light emission body 2 passes through the liquid crystal display means 1, makes it easy to see the liquid crystal display means 1, and concurrently makes it easy to operate the operation buttons in a dark place because light emitted is guided to the operation buttons 3 through the wave guides 5. This constitution thereby enables the buttons to be illuminated by the light emission body for illuminating the buttons without separately providing a light emission body for making it easy to see the liquid crystal display means 1, therefore, the device can thereby be made small in size, and much power can thereby be saved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device with a liquid crystal display equipped with operation buttons devised to facilitate operation in a dark place.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many liquid crystal display-equipped devices equipped with an operation button devised to facilitate operation in a dark place have a structure in which the operation button is illuminated. A general structure conventionally used for this purpose is shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 2 shows a view of FIG. 1 from a viewpoint A. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, conventionally, a liquid crystal display device 1, a light emitter 2 for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see, an operation button 3, and a light emitter 4 for causing the operation button 3 to emit light. Was composed of.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the light emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and the light emitting body for making the operation button emit light are different from each other, downsizing of the device and power saving are achieved. Was an obstacle.

An object of the present invention is to downsize the device and save power.

[0005]

The above object can be achieved by using a structure in which a light emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and a light emitting body for making the operation button emit light are shared.

[0006]

By providing the above means, it is possible to reduce the size of the device and save power.

[0007]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be specifically described by way of examples. In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display device has a structure in which the light emitter provided for easy viewing and the light emitter for facilitating button operation in a dark place are shared. As a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the device, save power, or both. Further, the device has a structure for facilitating the operation of the device for turning on the power supply of the circuit including the light emitter even in a dark place, thereby improving the usability of the device in a dark place.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 3 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as an embodiment of the present invention. This device includes a liquid crystal display device 1 and a light-emitting body 2 for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see.
The operation button 3 and the light emitted from the light emitter 2
And the waveguide 5 for guiding to. In addition, FIG.
3 shows the structure viewed from the viewpoint B. The light emitted from the light-emitting body 2 passes through the liquid crystal display device to make the liquid crystal display device easier to see, and is guided to the operation button 3 by the waveguide 5 to facilitate the operation of the button in a dark place. There is. According to this example, it is possible to illuminate the button without providing a light emitting body for illuminating the button separately from a light emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see,
It is possible to reduce the device size and power consumption.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as a second embodiment of the present invention. This device includes a liquid crystal display device 1, operation buttons 3, and a light emitting body 6. Further, FIG. 6 shows the structure of FIG. 5 viewed from the viewpoint C. The light-emitting body 6 has a size necessary for the light emitted therefrom to directly illuminate the liquid crystal display device 1 and the operation button 3. According to this example, since it is not necessary to separately provide a light emitting body for facilitating the operation of the button in a dark place, downsizing of the device and power saving can be realized.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as a third embodiment of the present invention. This device includes a liquid crystal display device 1, operation buttons 3, and a light emitting body 7. FIG. 8 shows the structure of FIG. 7 viewed from the viewpoint D. The light-emitting body 7 is attached at a position such that the light emitted from the light-emitting body 7 irradiates the liquid crystal display device 1 and the operation button 3 from above or from the same surface. According to this example, the light emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and the light emitting body for facilitating the operation of the button in the dark place are shared, so that the device can be downsized and the power saving can be realized.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 9 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This device is for guiding the liquid crystal display device 1, the operation button 3, the light emitter 9 for facilitating the operation of the operation button 3 in a dark place, and the light emitted from the light emitter 9 to the liquid crystal display device 1. And the waveguide 8. 10 shows the structure of FIG. 9 viewed from the viewpoint E. The light emitted from the light emitting body 9 for facilitating the operation of the operation button 3 illuminates the operation button 3 and is guided by the waveguide 8 to illuminate the liquid crystal display device 1 from below. Although the light guided by the waveguide 8 is configured to pass through the liquid crystal display device 1 in FIG. 10, the light guided by the waveguide 8 is configured as shown in FIG. 1 may be irradiated from the side or the upper part. According to this example, it is possible to make the liquid crystal display device easy to see without providing a light emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and a light emitting body for making the operation button illuminate separately. And power saving can be realized.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 12 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This device is different from the device shown as the first embodiment in that one or more sensors 1
0, a switch 11 connected to a circuit for lighting a light emitter in the device, and a light emitter 4 for facilitating the operation of the switch 11 in a dark place are added and improved. The sensor 10 is a sensor that detects that the user approaches the device, the user contacts the device, or the user moves the device. When the detection is performed by the sensor 10, the light emitter 4 is turned on. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, a light sensor 12 is provided to detect the ambient brightness, and only when the button illumination is required, the light emitting body 12 is provided.
Alternatively, one or both of the light emitting bodies 2 may be turned on.

Furthermore, the improvement shown in this example may be applied to each of the devices shown in the second, third and fourth embodiments. According to this example, the light-emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and the light-emitting body for facilitating the operation of the button in the dark place are shared, so that the device can be downsized and the labor can be saved. It is possible to further improve operability.

(Embodiment 6) FIG. 14 shows the structure of a liquid crystal display device as an eighth embodiment of the present invention. This device is an improvement of the device shown in the first embodiment by adding a switch 13 connected to a circuit for lighting a light emitting body in the device. The switch 13 is provided with irregularities on its surface to facilitate the operation in a dark place. A person who uses this device can know the position of the switch 13 by the unevenness. Further, the unevenness may be arranged around the switch 13. Also, instead of the irregularities, a substance that emits light in a dark place, such as fluorescent paint, may be arranged. According to this example, the light-emitting body for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see and the light-emitting body for facilitating the operation of the button in the dark place are shared, so that the size of the device and the power saving can be realized. In addition, further improvement in operability can be realized.

[0015]

According to the present invention, it is possible to construct a device with a liquid crystal display which is easy to operate in a dark place and which is downsized and consumes less power.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conventional perspective view of a device with a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a device with a liquid crystal display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a device with a liquid crystal display according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a liquid crystal display-equipped device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a liquid crystal display-equipped device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a device with a liquid crystal display according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a device with a liquid crystal display according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view of a device with a liquid crystal display according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view of FIG. 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Liquid crystal display device, 2 ... Light emitter, 3 ... Operation button, 4 ... Light emitter, 5 ... Waveguide liquid crystal, 6 ... Light emitter, 7 ... Light emitter, 8 ... Waveguide, 9 ... Light emitter, 10 … Sensors, 11… Switches, 1
2 ... Optical sensor, 13 ... Switch.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal display-equipped device including a liquid crystal display device and operation buttons, wherein a light-emitting body provided for making the liquid crystal display device easy to see is used to facilitate operation in a dark place. A liquid crystal display-equipped device comprising an operation button which emits light or emits light to the operation button. 2. A device with a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal display device and an operation button, wherein the operation button is provided for emitting light or irradiating light to facilitate operation in a dark place. A device with a liquid crystal display, characterized in that the liquid crystal display device is made easy to see by using a light emitting body. 3. A device with a liquid crystal display according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the switch is devised so that it can be turned on easily even in a dark place, and the light emitting body is devised to emit light.