JPS5855459Y2 - Control panel operation knob - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an operation knob for a control panel, and in particular, by introducing a part of the light used for illuminating the panel, a part of the knob is illuminated to make it easier to confirm the position of the knob. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel operating knob for a control panel in which it is easy to attach a light guide for introducing and emitting the light and to attach the knob itself to a control lever.

For example, in a seven-wheel drive vehicle, a control panel is used that is equipped with a control lever for adjusting the indoor environment such as indoor temperature and ventilation, and a display panel with letters, symbols, etc. indicating the operating position of the control lever. ing.

Since operations using the control panel are performed even at night, there are letters, symbols, etc., and controls attached to the tip of the control lever so that the operating position of the control lever can be confirmed even at night. The knob needs to be illuminated.

Therefore, a control panel as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used as a device suitable for such a purpose.

That is, the display board a placed facing the driver in the driver's cab
A horizontally elongated sliding hole is formed in the hole, and an operating knob C such as rcOOLER, rVENT etc. is formed in the vicinity of the sliding hole.
Information symbols d, d, etc. that display the operating position of
The lighting bulb e.

Each of the information symbols d, d, .

Then, the tip of the control lever g that operates the operating wire f and f for controlling the indoor environment is projected outward from the inside of the sliding hole of the display panel a, and the lever g is moved along the sliding hole. When you move to a certain information symbol, the indoor environment will be controlled as indicated by that information symbol.

Then, an operating knob C is fixed to the tip of the lever g, and a light source bulb e, separate from e, is provided behind the display panel a, and between the light source bulb and the operating knob C. An optical fiber bundle i is provided, and the light from the light source lamp is guided to the operation knob C by passing through the fiber bundle i, thereby making it easy for the driver and the driver to determine the position of the operation knob C at night. This allows passengers to be informed and to ensure that they operate correctly.

However, in such a control panel device, the operation knob C is usually made of synthetic resin.
This is integrally formed at the tip of the operating lever g by insert molding or the like, or is fixed by screws or the like.

If the operating knob C and lever g are integrally formed, they cannot be separated, so when replacing the display panel a, for example, the operating knob C must be destroyed or the entire lever g must be replaced. Must be removed.

Further, if the operating knob C is fixed to the lever g by screwing, it is possible to attach and detach it without destroying it, but the operation is unnecessary.

Furthermore, although the tip of the operating knob C is illuminated, the light is guided from the rear by an optical fiber bundle i, and furthermore, the control lever g is connected to the rear of the display panel a. arm j.

The operating parts such as j, wires f and f are complicated, and the fiber bundle i is passed through them.
is provided, the movement of the fiber bundle i by operating the operation knob C may be obstructed by the operating member such as the arm, impairing smooth operability, or the fiber bundle i may be moved by the member such as the arm. It has the disadvantage that it can become entangled with other parts and cause malfunctions.

In addition, the light source bulb for illuminating the operation knob C must be provided completely separately from the illumination bulbs e and e on the display panel a, making the already complicated back of the control panel even more complicated and making the operation even more complicated. Since the optical fiber bundle i is required to make the knob C shine, the number of parts increases, which increases the cost, and the number of parts management and assembly man-hours increases accordingly, which is another factor that leads to higher costs. ing.

Therefore, the present invention aims to illuminate a part of the knob by introducing a part of the light used for illuminating the panel, making it easier to confirm the position of the knob, and also to provide a guide for introducing and emitting the light. The purpose is to provide a new operation knob that makes it easy to attach the light body and the knob itself to the control lever, and includes a body made of an opaque material, a light guide made of a transparent material, and a spring material. The light guide has a light incident surface and a light exit surface, and includes two reflective surfaces connecting the light entrance surface and the light exit surface, and the light exit surface has irregularities formed therein. The light guide is coupled to the body in a fit-fitting manner, and the two reflective surfaces are arranged so as not to contact other members at their respective rear surfaces, and are inserted into the body. The present invention is characterized in that a spring clip having a resilient part that presses against the tip of the control lever is disposed, and the resilient part further has a portion that engages with the tip of the lever in a concave-convex manner.

4 to 7 show a first embodiment of the operating knob for a control panel of the present invention.

The operating knob 1 is composed of a body 2 made of opaque synthetic resin, a light guide 3 made of transparent synthetic resin, and a spring clip 4.

A recess 5 for receiving the light guide 3 is formed on the upper surface of the body 2, and the front end of the recess 5 extends to the upper part of the front surface of the body 2 and is open.

The front side of the upper surface of the light guide 3 is curved downward, and the front and rear ends of the lower surface are each sloped upward toward the end, and reflective surfaces 6 and 7 are formed here. Ru.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a hook portion that is integrally hung from the substantially central portion of the lower surface of the light guide 3, and an engagement groove 9 that is open on one side is formed.

A hole 10 is also formed in the center of the lower part of the receiving recess 5 of the body 2, into which the hook 8 of the light guide 3 is press-fitted. The receiver is inserted into the recess 5 of the body 2 in a state where the receiver 8 is press-fitted into the hole 10.

At this time, gaps 11 and 12 are formed between the reflecting surfaces 6 and 7 of the light guide 3 and the body 2.

Therefore, when light enters the upper surface 13 of the light guide 3 substantially perpendicularly to the upper surface 13 facing the reflective surface 6, the light enters the light guide 3 and is directed toward another reflective surface 7 at the reflective surface 6. is reflected, and furthermore,
The light is reflected by this reflecting surface 7 and emitted.

Also, there is a gap 11.1 between each reflective surface 6, 7 and the body 2.
2, the light entering the light guide 3 is substantially totally reflected by each reflecting surface 6, 7, so that the light can be used without wasting it.

Furthermore, since the light emitting portion 14 of the light guide 3 is a frosted surface, the light is emitted from this portion in a diffused manner, and visibility from a wider range is improved.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a control lever insertion groove opened on the rear surface of the body 2, and the back thereof communicates with a hole 10 into which the hook portion 8 of the light guide 3 is received.

When the control lever 17 having the slightly narrow locking piece 16 at the tip is completely inserted into the insertion groove 15,
A light guide 3 in which a locking piece 16 at the tip is inserted into a hole 10
into the engagement groove 9 of the hook part 8 of the light guide 3.
is prevented from falling out of the body recess 5.

The spring clip 4 is cut from a plate-shaped spring material, and consists of a wide and flat base 18 and a resilient portion 19 that is bent in a curved manner from the rear end of the base 18 toward the front end. A protrusion 20 is formed on the upper surface of 19.

Reference numeral 21 is open at the rear surface of the body 2 and is located in the lever insertion groove 1.
The spring clip insertion hole communicates with the lower part of the spring clip 5, and a wide mounting groove 22 is connected to the lower end of the spring clip insertion hole.

Therefore, the spring clip 4 has its base 1B connected to the mounting groove 2.
2, the elastic parts 19 are inserted into the insertion holes 21, and the upper part of the elastic parts 19 slightly protrudes into the lever insertion groove 15.

Therefore, when the control lever 17 is inserted into the lever insertion groove 15, the elastic portion 19 of the spring clip 4 is pushed downward, and a repulsive force is accumulated there.

When the control lever 17 is completely inserted into the groove 15, the hole 2 provided in the control lever 17
3, the protrusion 20 of the pressing portion 19 will fit into it.

In the operation knob 1 shown in the above embodiment, the light guide 3 is coupled in the recess 5 (including the hole 10) of the body 2, and the spring clip 4 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 and the mounting groove 22. If the control lever 17 is inserted into the lever insertion groove 15 in this state, the locking piece 16 formed at the tip of the lever 17 will lock into the locking groove 9 provided in the hooking part 8 of the light guide 3.
Further, the hole 23 provided in the lever 17 and the protrusion 20 of the spring clip 4 engage, and the spring clip 4
The elastic pressure portion 19 is compressed within the insertion hole 21 and a repulsive force is accumulated, so that the operation knob 1 is reliably attached to the control lever 17.

However, this attachment condition is
It is maintained by the frictional resistance between the base 18 and the mounting groove 22 caused by the repulsive force stored in the lever 9 and the engagement force between the protrusion 20 and the hole 23, so it is necessary to remove the operating knob 1 from the lever 17. If there is, it can be removed without any damage by pulling strongly on the body 2.

Furthermore, since the operating lever 1 is equipped with the light guide 3, the tip 14 of the light guide 3 can be easily illuminated by using an appropriate light source.

An example of use in such a case will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

24 is a display board formed into a horizontally long rectangle, and is incorporated into a front board 26 attached to the dash board 25 with its front facing indoors.

The display board 24 has a long sliding hole 27 along its longitudinal direction.
is formed in the vicinity of the sliding hole 27.
ER, rVENT, rBILEVEL, rHEATER
JrDEF, information symbols 28.2B, . . . are arranged.

The information symbols 28.2B, . . . are formed, for example, in the following manner.

That is, on the back side of a light-transmissive board material such as an acrylic resin board, a light-shielding print 29 is applied using black ink or the like, leaving the information symbol 28°28, . A diffusion-permeable coating 30 is applied.

It goes without saying that the formation of the information symbol is not limited to this.

31 is the information symbol 28.2B of the display board 24,...
This is a holding chamber that is formed on the back side of the part marked with ... and holds a light guide plate, which will be described later.It is a holding chamber that holds a light guide plate, which will be described later. A light guide chamber 34 that guides the information is formed so as to have a cross-sectional shape of "28.
It is formed over the entire portion marked with 2B, . . . .

The lower surface of the reflection chamber 32 of the holding chamber 31 is entirely provided with an opening 35, and the rear end surface of the light guide chamber 34 has an opening 35 for holding a light source bulb 33 and allowing the bulb 33 to face inside. A light bulb holding hole 36 is provided.

Reference numeral 37 is a light guide plate for the display board held in the holding chamber 31, which is made of a transparent material, and includes a reflecting section 38 held in the reflecting chamber 32 and a light guide section 39 held in the leading chamber 34. They are integrally formed so as to fit snugly into the reflection chamber 32 and the light guide chamber 34, respectively, and the outer ridgeline portion at the boundary between the reflection section 38 and the light guide section 39 is connected to the reflection section 38 and the light guide section 39, respectively. Diagonal cut 4 to make approximately 45° to
It is set to 0.

A display plate 24 is provided on the back side of the reflection section 38 of the light guide plate 37.
A large number of substantially conical stipples 41 are formed at locations corresponding to the information symbols 28.2B, . A recess 42 is formed at the exposed location, and the light source of the light bulb is inserted into this recess.

Incidentally, since the stipples 41 formed on the back surface of the reflecting section 3B are for reflecting the light entering from the recessed section 42 toward the display panel 24, other suitable means having the same effect, such as a line-shaped reflecting section, may be used. It may be replaced by adding a prismatic reflective portion, a reflective coating, or the like.

The control lever 17 has its tip connected to the sliding hole 2.
7 slightly protrudes forward of the display plate 24, and the operation knob 1 is attached to the tip thereof.

Then, the light source bulb 33 is turned on and the light guide plate 37 for the display board is turned on.
When a light beam enters the light guide section 39, the light enters the guide section 39
The light travels inside and is reflected in the direction of the reflection section 38 at the diagonal cut 40 portion.

The light beam entering the reflection part 3B is reflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the front surface by the stippling 41 formed on the back surface of the reflection part 3B, and exits from the front surface of the reflection part 38.
B, 2B, .

A part of the light beam that has entered the reflection section 3B from the light guide section 39 is emitted downward from the lower end surface 43 of the reflection section 3B without being affected by the stippling formed on the back surface of the reflection section 38, and the light beam reaches the operation knob 1. The light enters the light guide 3 from the portion 13.

The light incident on the light guide 3 of the knob 1 is reflected by the reflective surfaces 6 and 7.
The light is sequentially reflected by the area 14, and is emitted obliquely upward from the part 14. Therefore, since this part shines, the operation knob 1 can be used even at night.
The location can be confirmed very easily.

In addition, since a gap is formed between the reflective surface 6.7 and the body 2, the light can be almost completely reflected, making the area more bright. Since the surface is uneven, the light emitted from the light guide is diffused, and the visibility of the operation knob can be improved.

11 to 13 show another embodiment of the operating knob for the control panel of the present invention.

The operation knob 44 of this embodiment also has a body 45 made of opaque synthetic resin and a light guide 46 made of transparent synthetic resin.
and a spring clip 47.

A wide groove 48 is formed in the center of the front end of the body 45 in the vertical direction to receive the light guide 46 . A bridge portion 49 is formed that crosses the body 45 in the lateral direction, and the front surface of the bridge portion 49 is slightly set back from the front surface of the body 45, and the formation position of the bridge portion 49 is located approximately in the middle in the vertical direction. There is.

The light guide 46 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has claws 5 facing the front on opposing surfaces of arm pieces 50 and 51 extending from the top and bottom to the rear.
2.53 are formed, and furthermore, portions 54.55 of the opposing surfaces of the arm pieces 50.degree.

The tip of the downward tapered surface 55 has a small radius (R).
) surface 56.

The lower surface of the rear end of the upper arm piece 50 is an inclined surface 57 that goes upward as it goes rearward, and the lower surface of the base of the iron arm 50 is an inclined surface 58 that goes upward as it goes forward. 57 and 58 are reflective surfaces facing each other.

Therefore, this light guide 46 has upper and lower arm pieces 5G, 5
1 is inserted into the groove 48 of the body 45 from the front so as to sandwich the bridge portion 49 from above and below.

Then, the arm pieces 50.51 have their claws 52.53 connected to the bridge portion 49.
When passing through the bridge section 49, the claws 52.53 are bent due to the elasticity of the material, and when the claws 52.
3 engages with the upper and lower edges of the rear surface of the bridge portion 49, whereby the light guide 46 is attached to the body 45.

At this time, the surface 59 of the body 45 that faces the reflective surface 57 of the light guide 46 is inclined in accordance with the inclination of the reflective surface 57, but is also made into a slightly concave surface and has a gap 59 between it and the reflective surface 57.
0 is formed.

Further, since the upper surface of the bridge portion 49 of the body 45 is a flat surface, and the surface 58 of the light guide 46 facing this surface is an inclined surface, a gap 61 is also formed therebetween. .

The spring clip 47 is similar to the spring clip 4 used in the embodiment described above, and a protrusion 64 is formed on the upper surface of the elastic portion 63, which is separated from the base portion 62 and the elastic portion 63.

65 is a control lever insertion groove opened on the rear surface of the body 45, and 66 is a spring clip insertion hole opened on the rear surface of the body 45 and communicating with the lower part of the lever insertion groove 65, and the lower end thereof is A wide mounting groove 67 is continuously provided.

Thus, the spring clip 47 has its base portion 62 inserted into the mounting groove 67 and its elastic portion 63 inserted into the insertion hole 66.
The upper part of the pressing part 63 is slightly protruded into the lever insertion groove 65.

Therefore, when the control lever 68 is inserted into the lever insertion groove 65, the elastic portion 63 of the spring clip 47 is pushed downward, and a repulsive force is accumulated there.

When the control lever 68 is completely inserted into the groove 65, the hole 68 provided in the control lever 68
The protrusion 64 of the elastic portion 63 is fitted into the portion 9 , thereby attaching the operation knob 44 to the control lever 68 .

Note that the portion 70 of the light guide 46 has a frosted surface to improve visibility from a wide angle.

FIGS. 14 to 16 show still another embodiment of the control panel operating knob of the present invention.

The operation knob 71 of this embodiment also has a body 72 made of opaque synthetic resin, a light guide 73 made of transparent synthetic resin,
It also includes a spring clip 74.

The light guide 73 is formed by integrally forming a tip rising portion 75 and a tail portion 76 extending rearward from the lower end of the rising portion 75, and the lower surface of the rear end of the tail portion 76 extends rearward. The lower surface of the upright portion 75 is inclined upward as it goes forward, and these inclined surfaces serve as reflective surfaces 77 and 78, respectively.

The upper surface and front surface of the rising portion 75 of this light guide 73 are connected by a curved surface, and the entire frosted surface 7
It is said to be 9.

The body 72 has an opening at the center of the rear end and extends forward, and the front end extends diagonally upward.
2. A fitting hole 80 is formed at the front end of the 2.
is formed in a size large enough to receive the light guide 73 in a press-fitted state.

Further, a surface 81 of the fitting hole 80 facing the reflective surface 78 is made into a concave surface so that a gap 82 is formed between the surface 81 and the reflective surface 78 .

Thus, the tail portion 76 of the light guide 73 is inserted from the front end side of the fitting hole 80 of the body 72, and the light guide 73 is attached with the tail portion 76 largely protruding rearward from the rear end opening of the fitting hole 80. .

Since the size of the fitting hole 80 is large enough to receive the light guide 73 in a press-fitted state, the light guide 73 will not fit into the body unless a force is applied in the direction opposite to the insertion direction. It will not fall off from 72.

Reference numeral 83 denotes a control lever insertion groove opened on the rear surface of the body 72, and is provided continuously below the fitting hole 80.

The spring clip 74 is similar to the spring clips 4 and 47 used in the above two embodiments, and the base 84
and a pressing part 85, and a projection 8 is provided on the upper surface of the pressing part 85.
6 is formed.

Reference numeral 87 designates a spring clip insertion hole that opens on the rear surface of the body 72 and communicates with the lower part of the lever insertion groove 83, and a wide mounting groove 88 is connected to the lower end thereof.

Thus, the spring clip 74 has its base portion 84 inserted into the mounting groove 88 and its elastic portion 85 inserted into the insertion hole 87.
The upper part of the pressing part 85 is slightly protruded into the lever insertion groove 83.

Reference numeral 89 denotes a control lever, and an insertion piece 90 that is inserted into an insertion groove 83 formed in the body 72 projects from the tip thereof, and a small hole 91 is provided in the insertion piece 90.

The part from the rear end of the insertion piece 90 to the rear is a slightly wide holding part 92, and the holding part 92 is formed with a long hole 93 that extends back and forth, and the width of the long hole 93 is the same as the light guide. It is formed to have the same width as the tail portion 76 of the body 73, but slightly larger.

Further, the presser part 92 of the lever 89 is bent upward at the rear from the front end of the elongated hole 93, and furthermore, the rear is bent horizontally from that part slightly behind the bent part, and there is a step in this part. A portion 94 is formed, so that
When the insertion piece 90 of the control lever 89 is inserted into the lever insertion groove 83 formed in the body 72, the elastic portion 85 of the spring clip 74 is pushed downward, and a repulsive force is accumulated there.

When the insertion piece 90 of the control lever 89 is inserted further back, the protrusion 86 provided on the spring clip elastic part 85 fits into the hole 91 formed in the insertion piece 89, thereby controlling the operation knob 71. lever 89
Can be installed.

At this time, since the rear half of the presser part 92 of the control lever 89 is located upward through the stepped part 94, the tail part 76 of the light guide 73 fits into the elongated hole 93, and the installation state is not correct. Stabilize.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show an example of a conventional control panel and an operation knob used therein, with Figure 1 being a partially sectional plan view, Figure 2 being a front view, and Figure 3 being the same as Figure 1. 4 to 7 show an example of implementation of the control panel operation knob of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3. The figure is 6 in Figure 4.
7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 9 is a front view, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 8, and FIGS. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.
14 to 16 show still another embodiment of the operating knob of the present invention, FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view. 16- in Figure 15
16 is a sectional view taken along line 16. FIG. Explanation of symbols, 1... Operation knob, 2...
Bottle 13... Light guide, 4... Spring clip, 6... Reflective surface, 7... Reflective surface, 13...... Incidence surface, 14... Output surface, 17
... Control lever, 19 ... Suppression part. 20... Part for uneven fitting, 44...
・Operation knob, 45...Body-146...
...Light guide, 47...Spring clip, 57...
...Reflective surface, 58...Reflective surface, 63...
... Resilient part, 64 ... Part that engages concave and convex fitting,
70...Emission surface, 71...Operation knob,
72...Body, 73...Light guide, 7
4...Spring clip, 77...Reflection surface, 7B...Reflection surface, 79...Emission surface,
85... Resilient part, 86... Part that engages concave and convex fitting, 89... Control lever

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It is composed of a body made of an opaque material, a light guide made of a transparent material, and a spring clip made of a spring material. The light guide is provided with two reflective surfaces connecting to the output surface, and unevenness is formed on the output surface, and the light guide is coupled to the body in a fitting manner, and the two reflective surfaces are connected to the rear surface of each of the light guides. A spring clip is arranged in the body so as not to come into contact with other members, and a spring clip having a resilient part that presses against the tip of the control lever inserted therein is arranged, and this resilient part also comes into contact with the tip of the lever. An operation knob for a control panel, characterized by having a convex-concave fitting portion.