JPS6121684Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a novel control lever operation knob illumination device, and more specifically, in a device that illuminates a part of the operation knob attached to the tip of the control lever, the control lever is inserted into the device. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel control lever operation knob illumination device that prevents light from leaking into the slide groove.

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a conventional control lever operation knob illumination device. Figure 1 shows a vertical section at the position where the operation knob is present, and Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section at the position where the operation knob is present. Each figure shows a vertical cross-section at a position where the image is not visible. A is a control lever, and by sliding the lever a, the operation mode of the object to be controlled is switched. Reference numeral b denotes a panel case, and a slide groove c into which the control lever a is inserted is formed along the sliding direction of the lever a. d is a transparent light guide plate housed and held in the panel case b, and the end face e of the light guide plate d is a transparent light guide plate formed along the longitudinal direction of the wall -f forming the slide groove c. It faces into the slide groove e through the optical groove g. A block-shaped operating knob h is fixed to the tip of the control lever a, and a prismatic light guide i is integrally fixed to this operating knob h. That is, the light guide i is provided so as to pass through the operating knob h in the extending direction of the lever a, its front end surface j is made to substantially follow the front end surface of the operating knob h, and serves as a light emitting surface, and its rear end portion extends within the slide groove c to the position of the light-transmitting groove g, and an inclined reflective surface k is formed with an oblique cutout on the opposite side of the surface facing the light-transmitting groove g. Thus, light entering the light guide plate d from a light source (not shown) is projected into the slide groove c from the end face e of the light guide plate d through the light transmission groove g. As shown in FIG. 1, at the position where the operating knob h exists, the light passing through the light transmitting groove g is transmitted through the light transmitting groove at the rear end of the light guide i attached to the operating knob h. The light is incident from the side surface opposite to g, and this light is reflected by the inclined reflective surface k and directed toward the front end surface j. Since this light is emitted forward from the light emitting surface j at the front end of the light guide i, when viewed from the front, the light emitting surface j, that is, a part of the operation knob h appears to be shining, making it difficult to operate. The position of the knob h can be quickly and reliably visually confirmed. However, in such a conventional operation knob illumination device, the transparent groove g is formed in one f of the wall constituting the slide groove c and extends over substantially the entire length of the slide groove c. Since the surface l facing the light-transmitting groove g is formed in a planar shape, the light transmitted through the light-transmitting groove g illuminates the wall surface l facing the light-transmitting groove g at the position where the operation knob h is not present. As a result, the inside of the slide groove c becomes dimly bright, which impedes visibility. In other words, devices equipped with this type of control lever are usually equipped with a display section that shows the control target, operation mode, etc., and in such cases, there are bright areas other than the display section. This is because it reduces the visibility of the display and also gives glare to the person looking at the control panel surface. Furthermore, since the visibility of the operation knob h is determined by the difference in brightness from the surrounding area, the presence of leakage light around the operation knob h also reduces the visibility of the operation knob h.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a novel control lever operation knob illumination device that improves the visibility of the operation knob by preventing light from leaking into the slide groove into which the control lever is inserted. , a transparent light guide plate with a part facing the light source, a control lever that extends in the thickness direction of the light guide plate and has an operation knob attached to its tip, and an operation mode and control lever arranged on the front or back side of the light guide plate. a display board provided with characters, symbols, etc. for displaying a controlled object, and a slide groove into which the control lever is inserted and extends along the sliding direction thereof is formed in the light guide plate and the display board, and a wall surface forming the slide groove; A notch-shaped light-transmitting groove extending along the sliding direction of the control lever is formed on the side of the light guide plate, so that the output end face of the light guide plate faces from the light-transmitting groove into the slide groove, and the side opposite to the wall surface on which the light-transmitting groove is formed. The portion of the wall surface that faces the translucent groove is a rearwardly inclined surface, and a transparent light guide extending in the front and back direction is attached to the operation knob, and the front end of the light guide is attached to the operation knob. The surface faces forward from the front end surface of the operation knob, and a light receiving surface facing the output end surface of the light guide plate is formed at the rear end, and the light from the light source that has entered the thickness of the light guide plate is emitted from the light guide plate. It is characterized in that the light exits from the end face, enters the light guide of the operating knob, and is further emitted from the front end face.

The details of the control lever operating knob illumination device of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

3 to 5 show an example of the implementation of the control lever operating knob illumination device of the present invention.

1 is a control lever, which is slidably supported by a support mechanism (not shown);
This slide operation switches or changes the operating mode of the device to be controlled. 2 is a panel case with an open front;
A slide groove 3 is formed into which the control lever 1 is inserted and slid along. The slide groove 3 exists as a space surrounded by a wall 5 that projects forward from the periphery of a notch 4 formed on the rear surface of the panel case 2.
One of the walls 5, 5a and 5b, which extends in the sliding direction of the control lever 1, is provided with a notch 6 having a length extending approximately the entire length of the slide groove 3 at its rear portion, and this 6 is transparent. It forms a light groove. The part of the other wall 5b that faces the translucent groove 6 and the part slightly forward from the part are a part 7 that is slightly recessed from the other parts, and the recessed part 7 faces rearward. It is said to have a gentle slope.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a display plate disposed to cover the front surface of the panel case 2, and has a notch 9 into which the front end of the wall 5 of the panel case 2 is fitted. 10 is a light-transmissive character indicating the operation mode of the controlled object controlled by the control lever 1;
is located along. Character 10 is display board 8
By applying a light-shielding film 12 to the back surface of the transparent substrate 11 except for the portions where the characters 10 are to be formed, the transparent substrate 11 is formed in a light-transmissive manner.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a transparent light guide plate disposed on the back side of the display panel, a part of which faces an appropriate light source (not shown), and is designed to introduce light from the light source into its own wall thickness. The light guide plate 13 also has a notch 14 through which the wall 5 projecting forward of the panel case 2 is inserted.
is formed, and the wall 5 of the panel case 2 protrudes forward through this notch 14, and its tip fits into the notch 9 of the display board 8. 15 is the light guide plate 1
3 is a recessed point formed at a location corresponding to the character 10 on the back side, and the light that has entered the thickness of the light guide plate 13 is reflected toward the character 10 by this recessed point 15, and is transmitted through it. When viewed from the front, the letter 10 appears to be shining brightly. One surface 16 of the notch 14 of the light guide plate 13 faces the slide groove 3 through the light-transmitting groove 6 formed in the wall 5a of the panel case 2, and this surface 16 is used as an output end surface.

17 is a block-shaped operation knob fixed to the tip of the control lever 1, and the transparent light guide 1
8 are integrally fixed. The light guide 18 has a prismatic shape, and its front end passes through the operating knob 17 in the direction in which the control lever 1 extends, and its front end surface 19 substantially follows the front surface of the operating knob 17. , this 19 is the light emitting surface. The rear end of the light guide 18 is connected to the slide groove 3.
It extends to the vicinity of the rear end, and a surface 20 facing the light-transmitting groove 6 at the rear is a light-receiving surface, and a surface opposite to the light-receiving surface 20 is an inclined reflective surface 21.

Therefore, in such a control lever operation knob illumination device according to the present invention, the light incident on the light guide plate 13 from a light source (not shown) spreads throughout the thickness of the light guide plate 13, and a part of the light enters the concave points. 15
The light is reflected by the light beam and transmitted through the character 10, thereby making the character 10 indicating the operating mode shine.
Further, another part of the light that has passed through the light guide plate 13 is emitted from the output end face 16 and reaches the inside of the slide groove 3 through the light transmission groove 6. Therefore, at a location where the operating knob 17 as shown in FIG.
The light enters the light guide 18 from 0, is reflected by the inclined reflection surface 21, travels inside the light guide 18 toward the front end, and is emitted forward from the light emitting surface 19. Therefore, when the operating knob 17 is viewed from the front, the light emitting surface 19 appears to be shining. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, in locations where the operation knob 17 is not present, the light emitted from the output end surface 16 of the light guide plate 13 is directed to the inclined surface 7 on the opposite side of the light-transmitting groove 6. To shoot. Since this slope 7 is a slope facing backward, all the light that hits this slope 7 is reflected backward. Therefore, the slide groove 3 at the location where the control lever 1 is not present
Light leakage is completely prevented.

As described above, in the control lever operation knob illumination device of the present invention, the surface inside the slide groove opposite to the light-transmitting groove where light from the light guide plate enters the slide groove is a slope facing backward. Therefore, even in areas where there is no operating knob, the light emitted from the translucent groove is reflected backwards on the slope, which has the effect of preventing light leaking from the sliding groove and preventing the operating knob and letters from being exposed. Visibility is improved.

In the above embodiments, the characters indicating the operating mode of the control equipment, etc. are shown as being formed in a light-transmissive manner on the display board disposed in front of the light guide plate, but the characters are not limited to such characters. It may be formed directly on the front surface of the effective plate in a light transmitting manner, or alternatively,
Various modifications are possible, such as forming a light-opaque material on the back surface of the light guide plate.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a conventional control lever operation knob illumination device. Figure 1 is a sectional view of the main part where the operation knob is located, and Figure 2 is a sectional view of the main part where the operation knob is located. 3 to 5 show an example of the implementation of the control lever operation knob illumination device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 3. FIG. Explanation of symbols, 1... Control lever, 3...
...Slide groove, 5...Wall forming the slide groove,
6...Transparent groove, 7...Slanted surface facing rearward, 8...
...Display board, 10...Character, 13...Light guide plate, 16
... Output end surface, 17 ... Operation knob, 18 ... Light guide, 19 ... Front end surface of light guide, 20 ... Light receiving surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A transparent light guide plate with a part facing the light source, a control lever that extends in the thickness direction of the light guide plate and has an operation knob attached to its tip, and a control lever placed on the front or back side of the light guide plate to control the operation mode and control. A slide groove is formed in the light guide plate and the display plate, and a slide groove through which the control lever is inserted and extends along the sliding direction of the control lever is formed on the wall surface constituting the slide groove. A notch-shaped light-transmitting groove extending along the sliding direction of the control lever is formed so that the output end surface of the light guide plate faces into the slide groove from the light-transmitting groove, and the wall surface on the side opposite to the wall surface on which the light-transmitting groove is formed. The part facing the translucent groove is a rearwardly inclined surface, and a transparent light guide extending in the front and back direction is attached to the operation knob, and the front end surface of the light guide is attached to the operation knob. is faced forward from the front end surface of the operation knob, and a light receiving surface is formed at the rear end to face the output end surface of the light guide plate, and the light from the light source that has entered the thickness of the light guide plate is directed toward the output end surface. A control lever operating knob illumination device characterized in that the light is emitted from the light guide member of the operating knob, and is further emitted from the front end face thereof.