JPH11134932A - Lighting system for operation panel of electric apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system for an operation panel of an electric apparatus that does not need a large installation area and can illuminate the periphery of an operation knob and the like brightly and uniformly with a light source amount and luminous energy as small as possible. SOLUTION: An operation panel of an electric apparatus is formed on an exterior panel 2 by placing operation knobs of a jog dial 11 and the like to be used for tuning and other operations, and a receiving part 12 to place the jog dial 11 as an operation knob is formed in the exterior panel 2. The receiving part 12 is equipped with a barrier part 23 adjacent to the circumferential surface of the jog dial 11 and a bottom surface 24 adjacent to the back face of the jog dial 11, and light emission diodes 13A, 13B are introduced from the bottom surface 24 toward the back face of the jog dial 11. Then, a reflecting surface opposite to the jog dial 11 and the bottom surface 24 is formed and the irradiating light generated by the light emission diodes 13A, 13B is reflected and is radiated from a part between the jog dial 11 and the barrier part 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for a control panel of an audio device or other electric equipment, and more particularly to a device for illuminating the periphery of an operation knob for adjusting a volume or converting a frequency. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device for an operation panel of an electric device capable of illuminating the surroundings of an operation knob or the like brightly and uniformly by reducing the quantity and light amount.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an operation panel of an electric device has various operation knobs necessary for operation of the model, such as a mode changeover switch, a push button switch, and a dial for frequency conversion and volume adjustment, in addition to various display portions. Are arranged. Many of them are just protruding from the exterior panel,
Some of them illuminate the periphery of the operation knob with a light source to clarify the position and improve the operability, and at the same time, improve the aesthetic appearance by an electric decoration effect.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in an operation panel having a jog dial J for selecting a channel as an operation knob on an exterior panel, a tubular light guide having a light transmitting property to the exterior panel P around the jog dial J. It is known that a member D is provided and a light source L faces one end surface of the light guide member D. Here, the light source L is mounted on the circuit board B on the back side of the exterior panel P. When the light source L is turned on, the radiated light enters from one end face of the light guide member D, and the jog dial J passes through the inside.
Radiated from the periphery of

Therefore, according to this type of lighting device, since the periphery of the jog dial J as an operation knob is illuminated, its position is clear even in a dark room and there is no fear of erroneous operation. Since it shines in synchrotron light, it is aesthetic, and the added value of the product is greatly improved.

[0005]

However, according to the above-described lighting device, there is a disadvantage that an area for disposing a light source is required on the back side of the operation panel, which leads to an increase in the size of the main body of the electric equipment. Moreover, if the light guide member is a completely transparent body having a high light transmittance, only the portion where the light source is present becomes brighter, causing unevenness in illuminance and impairing the aesthetic appearance. When separated, the illuminance becomes almost uniform, but there is a problem that the size of the device body further increases.

For this reason, a milky white translucent body which can obtain uniform illuminance even when the light source is near is generally used as the light guide member. The need for a light source has left a major problem in terms of power consumption.

Accordingly, the present invention is to provide a lighting device for an operation panel of an electric appliance, which does not require a large installation area, and can illuminate the periphery of an operation knob or the like brightly and uniformly with as few light sources and light amounts as possible. With the goal.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an illuminating device for an operation panel of an electric appliance including an operation knob whose periphery is illuminated by a light source, wherein the operation knob is provided on an exterior panel. The light source is disposed on the back surface of the operation knob while being disposed in the provided housing portion, and the housing portion forms a partition wall portion close to a peripheral surface of the operation knob and a bottom surface portion close to the back surface of the operation knob. An operation panel in an electrical device, wherein a reflection surface facing the bottom surface and the operation knob is formed so that irradiation light from the light source is emitted from between the partition and the operation knob. The lighting device of the present invention is provided.

Here, the operation knob and its accommodating portion may be formed entirely of an opaque material having a high reflectivity, or the back surface of the operation knob and the bottom portion of the accommodating portion may be covered with such a sheet or paint. To form a reflective surface. However, the color tone is preferably a white color with a high reflectance. Therefore, in the invention according to claim 2, the operation knob and the reflection surface of the housing portion are formed of an opaque white material.

On the other hand, red and green light colors can be used as the color tone of the light source, but the illuminants having different emission colors are provided as the light source, and by individually lighting them, the illumination effect can be further enhanced. . Therefore, in the invention of claim 3, the light source is configured by alternately arranging illuminants of different emission colors around the operation knob, and the lighting of the different color illuminant can be switched by operating the operation knob. ing.

Although the above-mentioned lighting apparatus uses an operation knob for inputting a signal to a device, a display provided on an exterior panel is used instead of such an operation knob. A plate may be used. In the present invention, the display panel is not a switch such as an operation knob, but refers to a class of accessories that are not related to the operation of other devices, such as a badge with a company name or a product name. .

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for reproducing a recording medium as an application example of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an operation panel of the present reproducing apparatus. The operation panel 1 is configured by arranging a display unit and operation knobs on an exterior panel 2.
Of these, 3 is a loading port for loading, for example, an MD (mini-disc) as a recording medium, and 4 is a liquid crystal display as a display unit that shows a reproduction state of the recording medium. As operation knobs, 5 is a main power switch, 6 is a push button for reproducing a recording medium, 7 is a push button for recording, 8 is an eject switch, 9 is a button for selecting a recording medium stored in multiple stages, 10 Is a volume knob, and 11 is a jog dial used for selecting music or inputting characters to a recording medium. In this embodiment, the periphery of the jog dial 11 is illuminated by a light source provided on the back side thereof.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the portion in an enlarged manner. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 denotes a housing formed on the outer panel 2, 13A and 13B denote light emitting diodes provided as light sources in the housing 12, and the jog dial 1
Numeral 1 is disposed in the accommodation section 12 via light emitting diodes 13A and 13B. The light emitting diodes 13A, 13A
B have different emission colors, and are provided alternately around the jog dial 11 as shown in the drawing, and the same color is opposed to the jog dial 11 in the radial direction.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along line XX in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 14 denotes a circuit board built in the reproducing apparatus.
Is implemented. The jog dial 11 is supported so as to be rotatable in the normal and reverse directions when mounted on the operation shaft 16.
The rotary operation amount is read by the rotary encoder 15 through the operation shaft 16. Here, the jog dial 11 has a hollow shaft portion 17 fixed to the operation shaft 16.
And a metal cover 19 fitted on the surface of the base. Among them, the base 18 is formed of, for example, white and opaque polystyrene, and the back surfaces thereof are the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B.
Is formed as a white reflecting surface 20 that reflects the irradiation light of the above. Instead of integrally forming the base 18 with such a white material, for example, the base 18 is made transparent, and a white reflective sheet is stuck only on the back surface, or a white material is applied on the back surface of the cover 19. It can also be used as a reflective surface.

On the other hand, the accommodating portion 12 has a cylindrical outer frame 21 having a concave cross section formed of an opaque synthetic resin such as an ABS resin, and a colorless and transparent disk-like shape accommodated inside the outer frame. Of the jog dial 11
Of the jog dial 11 and a bottom surface 24 adjacent to the back surface of the jog dial 11 are formed. this house,
The outer frame 21 has the above-described partition wall 23, a hub 25 through which the shaft 17 of the operation knob passes, and several hooks 26 extending to the opposite side of the partition wall 23, and the hooks 26 are introduced inside the exterior panel 2. And fixed. The lens 22 is fixed to the outer frame 21 with a circular ridge 27 on which the back edge of the jog dial 11 is in sliding contact.
2 prevents dust and the like from entering the device. here,
The bottom portion 24 includes a lens 22 and an outer frame 21 for fixing the lens.
The lens 22 and the outer frame 21 have openings 28 through which the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B are introduced.
29, and an opaque reflecting surface 30 is formed on the back surface of the lens 22 by applying a white pigment or the like. The reflecting surface 30 is opposed to the reflecting surface 20 of the operation knob via the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B, and reflects the irradiation light of the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B to radiate the light from between the jog dial 11 and the partition 23. it can. The outer frame 21 may be integrally formed of a white synthetic resin or the like to form a white reflective surface on the bottom surface 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B have their ends facing the back surface of the jog dial 11 through openings 28 and 29 formed in the outer frame 21 and the lens 22, and their terminals (not shown). Are connected to the circuit board 14 through the exterior panel 2. Only one of the light-emitting diodes 13A and 13B that emits, for example, a red light-emitting color in normal time is turned on, and the light is switched to the other during operation of the jog dial 11. As the switching means, in this example, a signal transmitted from the rotary encoder 15 is detected, and the energization to the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B is switched according to the presence or absence of the detection signal. For example, when no signal is transmitted from the rotary encoder 15 within a predetermined time, the light emitting diode 13A that emits red light through an electric circuit on the circuit board 14
, And conversely, when the signal is continuously transmitted from the rotary encoder 15, only the light emitting diode 13B emitting green light is energized.

Here, the operation of the illuminating device configured as described above will be described. First, in a state where the jog dial 11 is not operated, only one of the light emitting diodes 13A is turned on by energization from the circuit board 14. ing. At this time, the light irradiates the back surface of the jog dial 11 and the bottom portion 24 of the storage portion, and the irradiated light passes through the projections 27 of the lens while repeating total reflection on the reflection surfaces 20 and 30 and finally passes through. Radiation is emitted from between the jog dial 11 and the partition 23 to the outside. In particular, since the partition 23 exists, light does not diffuse along the exterior panel 2, but is condensed in a direction perpendicular to the exterior panel 2, and only the periphery of the jog dial 11 can be brightly and uniformly illuminated. When the jog dial 11 is operated in this state, the rotary encoder 15 operates to generate a specific signal, and a search for an input character on the recording medium is performed using the specific signal, and at the same time, the electric paths to the light emitting diodes 13A and 13B are switched. Can be Therefore, the other light emitting diode 13B is turned on instead of the light emitting diode 13A, and the jog dial 11
Will be decorated with a different lightning color.

A preferred example of the present invention has been described above.
The lighting device according to the present invention has the jog dial 1 as described above.
The operation knob is not limited to illuminating the periphery of the recording medium by using the main power switch 5, the recording medium reproduction push button 6, the recording medium reproduction push button 6, the recording medium push button 7, the eject switch 8, and the recording medium. The selection button 9 or the volume knob 10 can be used. In addition,
For example, instead of the jog dial 11, the playback push button 6
Is used, the light source for illumination can be turned on / off or its color tone can be converted using the ON / OFF signal.

Instead of the operation knobs, a display plate provided on the exterior panel 2 can be used. FIG. 4 shows an example of such a case, in which the badge 31 containing the company name shown in FIG. 1 is used as a display plate. As shown in the figure, the badge 31 is provided on the housing 3 provided on the exterior panel 2.
2, a light-emitting diode 13A as a light source is interposed between the back surface of the support leg 31A and the bottom surface 34 of the housing portion 32. Here, the accommodation portion 32 is a recess formed integrally with the opaque exterior panel 2 having a light-shielding property, having a partition wall portion 33 near the peripheral surface of the badge 31 and a bottom surface portion 34 near the back surface of the badge 31. In addition, reflection surfaces 35 and 36 made of an opaque white material are formed on the surface of the bottom surface portion 34 and the back surface of the badge 31 so as to face each other. The light emitting diode 13A is introduced from the back side of the exterior panel 2 into the inside of the accommodating portion 32, and faces the back surface of the badge 31 with its portion supported by the bottom surface portion. Therefore, according to the lighting device of this example, the badge 31 and the bottom portion 34
The light emitting diode 1 is formed by the reflecting surfaces 35 and 36 formed at the same time.
The periphery of the badge 31 can be illuminated by totally reflecting the irradiation light of 3A and radiating it from between the badge 31 and the partition wall 33. The turning on and off of the light emitting diode 13A can be performed, for example, by operating the main power switch 5 shown in FIG. Further, as in the above-described example, a switch for switching the light emitting body may be provided individually on the exterior panel 2 while the light emitting body of a different color is provided.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the jog dial and other operation knobs are arranged in the accommodating portion provided on the exterior panel, and the light source is accommodated with the light source facing the back surface of the operation knob. Since it is housed inside the unit, it can be made compact as a whole, and furthermore, a reflection surface is formed on the operation knob and the bottom part of the housing part close to the back surface so that the irradiation light from the light source radiates from the periphery of the operation knob As a result, the number of light sources and the amount of light can be reduced to illuminate the periphery of the operation knob brightly and uniformly.

In particular, since the partition wall portion is formed close to the peripheral surface of the operation knob, the radiated light of the light source is not diffused along the outer panel but is condensed on the periphery of the operation knob. As a result, the amount of light radiated from the periphery of the operation knob is large, the color tone is clear, and the operation knob is prominent.

In connection with the fact that the number of light sources to be installed can be reduced, light-emitting bodies of different emission colors are alternately provided around the operation knob, and their lighting can be switched by operating the operation knob. The color tone of the periphery can be changed each time, and the illumination effect is greatly improved.

Further, by using a display plate on which a company name or a product name is given instead of such an operation knob, the effect is obtained that the advertising effect is greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an operation panel of an audio device as an application example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing specific operation knobs provided on the operation panel.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a lighting device of a control panel in a conventional electric device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation panel 2 Exterior panel 11 Jog dial 12 Housing 13A, 13B Light emitting diode 20 Reflection surface 23 Partition wall 24 Bottom part 30 Reflection surface 31 Badge

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An illumination device for an operation panel of an electric device including an operation knob whose periphery is illuminated by a light source, wherein the operation knob is disposed in a housing portion provided on an exterior panel, and is provided on a back surface of the operation knob. The light source is faced, and the housing portion forms a partition wall portion close to the peripheral surface of the operation knob and a bottom surface portion close to the back surface of the operation knob, and has a reflection surface facing the bottom surface portion and the operation knob. An illumination device for an operation panel in an electric device, wherein the illumination light from the light source is formed so as to be emitted from between the partition and the operation knob. 2. The lighting device for an operation panel of an electric device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection surface is formed of an opaque white material. 3. The light source according to claim 1, wherein the light source is configured by alternately arranging light-emitting bodies of different emission colors around the operation knob, and the lighting of the light-emitting body of the different color can be switched by operating the operation knob. 2. A lighting device for an operation panel in the electric device according to 1. 4. The lighting device for an operation panel in an electric device according to claim 1, wherein a display plate provided on an exterior panel is used instead of the operation knob.