JPS6228494Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Purpose of the Invention Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a lighting structure for a knob in a lever device, and in particular, to an illumination structure for a knob in an operating lever device for controlling an air conditioner for an automobile. Concerning what is suitable for use as a.

BACKGROUND ART In general, air distribution control, temperature control, air volume control, etc. in an automobile air conditioner are performed by switching the position of a knob of an operating lever device installed in an instrument panel. The knob of this operating lever device is
As shown in the figure, it is attached to the front of the controller O, which indicates the control position of the lever tip. That is, in FIG. 1, on the panel part 6 of the controller O, there are a knob 1 of the internal/external air switching lever for selecting the introduced air, a knob 2 of the mode lever, a knob 3 of the template lever, and a knob 4 of the fan lever, respectively. It is arranged at the tip of each lever so that the displacement can be adjusted freely in the direction. Although not shown, the mode lever is connected to a control wire (or negative pressure actuator) in order to control the air distribution of the automobile air conditioner, that is, to control various doors such as the air outlet into the vehicle interior, such as the floor air outlet and the vent air outlet. If the door is driven by a vacuum selector (vacuum hose) or a servo motor, the knob 2 is switched to the desired mode among the mode setting positions displayed on the front of the panel section 6. As a result, each door is controlled to perform preset air distribution control.
Similarly, the template lever controls the temperature adjustment system of an automobile air conditioner, and is linked via a control wire, etc., and controls the temperature set by switching the knob 3 to the desired temperature setting position. I'm starting to do it. Further, the fan lever is linked to a fan drive motor of the automobile air conditioner, and is configured to control a set air volume by switching the knob 4 to a desired position.

By the way, in the case of a control lever device of an air conditioner for an automobile, the front side of the panel portion (control panel) of the controller is generally illuminated for convenience of operation. There is an illumination structure for a knob in a lever device of a conventional automobile air conditioner as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 2, one end of the elongated plate-shaped lever 5 is connected to the panel portion 6 of the controller O.
The lever is rotatably supported via a shaft 7 at the rear position of the lever, and the intermediate part of the lever is slidably inserted into the guide slot 8 of the front wall 6 of the panel 1. Attach a hollow knob 9 made of synthetic resin or the like to the end, fit a transparent body 10 into the front of this knob 9, insert a light bulb 11 into the hollow part of this knob 9, and connect the terminal of this light bulb. It is configured to be electrically connected to a power source 13 via a conductive plate 12 stuck on the lever 5.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with regard to the lighting structure of the knob in this conventional lever device, a light bulb is built into the knob and a conductive plate is attached to the lever, making the knob large and unusable. It has disadvantages such as poor appearance and complicated structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a lighting structure for a lever device in which the knob is small and has a simple structure.

Means for Solving the Constituent Problems of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the present invention forms a cylindrical boss part on a support plate having a panel part in which a guide slot is formed, and a knob is provided at the free end. A rotating shaft portion that fits into the inner surface of the boss portion is formed at one end of the provided lever, and as the intermediate portion of the lever slides into the guide elongated hole, the rotating shaft portion engages with the boss portion. an engaging portion is provided protrudingly on the boss portion and engages with the rotation shaft portion when the rotation shaft portion is fitted into the boss portion; A light source chamber is formed within the shaft portion, and a light guide is provided within the lever, one end facing the light source chamber and the other end facing the transparent body of the knob.

Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 3 to 5 showing one embodiment of the present invention, the panel part 6 of the controller O is made of synthetic resin or the like and is made of a control base, that is, a support plate 1.
6, and this panel portion 6
Guide elongated holes 8, 8 for guiding the sliding movement of the lever are bored in the upper and lower parts of the lever in the horizontal direction (front and back directions in the drawing), respectively. These two guide slots 8, 8
are guide elongated holes corresponding to the mode lever and the template lever shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Low cylindrical boss portions 17A and 17B are integrally formed on both the front and back sides of the rear end portion of the support plate 16, respectively. This pair of boss parts 17A, 17
A part of B has hook-shaped engaging portions 18A, 18.
B is bored approximately perpendicularly to the support plate 16. Further, a through hole 19 is bored in a portion of the support plate 16 that forms a boundary between the boss portions 17A and 17B, and this through hole 19 allows the boss portions 17A and 17B to communicate with each other.

In FIG. 3, the levers are a pair of levers 20A and 20 corresponding to a mode lever and a template lever.
B are provided, and these levers are formed into elongated plate shapes and are bent so as to be vertically symmetrical to each other. These levers 20A, 20
At the rear end of B, rotating shaft portions 21A and 21B are respectively formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter approximately equal to the inner diameter of the boss portions 17A and 17B. Therefore, the pivot shaft parts 21A, 21B of this lever are rotatably fitted to the inner surfaces of the boss parts 17A, 17B, respectively, and by engaging a part of the end face with the engaging parts 18A, 18B, respectively. Each lever 20A, 20B is supported by a support plate 16. The hollow portions of the rotation shaft portions 21A and 21B form light source chambers 22A and 22B, respectively.
A light bulb 23 as a light source is provided in one light source chamber 22A.
is supported by the rotating shaft portion 21A through the axis of the lever 20A, and this light bulb 23 is connected to the other light source chamber 2.
2B through a through hole 19 bored between the boss portions 17A and 17B. In addition, a through hole 24 for discharging the heat of the light bulb 23 is formed in the lower surface of the rotating shaft portion 21B of the lever 20B in FIG. A light-shielding wall 25 is protruded from the facing portion to prevent the light from the light bulb from entering the front wall 6 even if it exits the through hole 24.

The intermediate portions of the pair of levers 20A, 20B are slidably fitted into the guide holes 8, 8 of the panel portion 6, respectively, and both levers 20A, 20B are connected to the rotation shaft portions 21A, 21B and the intermediate portion. By being supported by , it is designed to rotate around the rotation shafts 21A and 21B, respectively. Also, lever 20
A synthetic resin knob 26 is provided at the free end of the panel portion 6 protruding forward from the guide slots 8, 8 of A and 20B.
A and 26B are attached respectively. Lens-shaped transparent bodies 27A, 27B are fitted into the tip surfaces of the knobs 26A, 26B.
On the lower and upper surfaces of the levers 20A, 20B, which are opposite to each other, light guides 28A, 28B made of optical fiber or the like are installed.
It is fitted into long grooves 29A and 29B cut across the entire length in the lower and upper surfaces of B. One end of the light guides 28A, 28B faces into the light source chambers 22A, 22B, and the other end faces the transparent body 27A of the knob 26A, 26B.
It is facing the rear position of 27B.

The ends of control wires (not shown) are engaged with the levers 20A and 20B.
Leaf springs 30A, 30B are attached to the levers so as to freely move in and out of small holes formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the levers. These leaf springs 30A, 30B give the levers a clicking sensation and also prevent the levers from easily moving due to vibrations or wind pressure.

The operation of the illumination structure of the knob in the lever device according to the above configuration will be explained.

The lighting for the knobs 26A and 26B is the lever 20A,
The light from the built-in light source 23 is transmitted along the axes of the rotation shafts 21A and 21B at the rear end of the light guide 28A and 2 attached to the levers 20A and 20B.
The light is guided to the knobs 26A, 26B through 8B, and is illuminated by being projected outward from the transparent bodies 27A, 27B of the respective knobs 26A, 26AB. The light bulb 23 serving as the light source is connected to the pivot shaft 21 of the lever.
Since it is provided on the axis of A and 21B, it does not interfere with the rotation of the lever. In this case, the rotation shaft portion is guided by the cylindrical inner wall of the boss portions 17A, 17B, and the engaging portions 18A, 18B
It is held in place and maintains its rotating state. In addition, since the levers 20A and 20B are slidably held at their intermediate portions by the guide slots 8 and 8, the levers 20A and 20B are slidably held by the guide holes 8 and 8.
Even if a vertical force is applied to 6A, 26B, the rotational shaft portions 21A, 21B will not move to the boss portions 17A, 1.
It is not easy to extract from 7B.

In the above embodiment, the case where the mode lever and the template lever are vertically symmetrically arranged has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where only one lever is provided. In that case, the heat dissipation through hole 24 and the light shielding wall 25 may be provided separately on the rotation shaft. It goes without saying that it is also possible to use the support plate 16 with its front and back reversed so that the light source body 23 is on the lower side.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, since the light source chamber is provided at the rotation axis of the lever, the distance between the light source chamber and the knob is reduced over the entire rotation range of the lever. This does not change, and the knob can be illuminated with constant illuminance over the entire rotation range of the lever. In addition, the lever can be attached to the support plate by providing a protruding engaging part on a part of the boss formed on the support plate and pushing the pivot shaft of the lever into the boss. becomes easier. Moreover, since a light source chamber is provided within the rotating shaft,
No extra space is required for the light source, making the entire controller more compact.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the panel section of the controller of an automotive air conditioner, Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a conventional example, Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4. 3 is a plan view taken along the line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 3. O...Controller, 6...Panel section, 8...
Guide slot, 16...Support plate, 17A, 17B...
Boss part, 18A, 18B...Engagement part, 19...Through hole, 20A, 20B...Lever, 21A, 21B
... Rotating shaft section, 22A, 22B ... Light source chamber, 23
...Light source, 26A, 26B...Knob, 27
A, 27B...transparent body, 28A, 28B...light guide.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A cylindrical boss portion is formed on a support plate having a panel portion in which a guide slot is formed, and the boss portion is attached to one end of a lever having a knob at its free end. forming a rotating shaft portion that fits into the inner surface of the lever so that the rotating shaft portion rotates within the boss portion as the intermediate portion of the lever slides into the guide elongated hole; An engaging portion that engages with the rotating shaft when the rotating shaft is fitted into the boss is provided in a protruding manner on the boss, a light source chamber is formed within the rotating shaft, and the lever 1. An illumination structure for a knob in a lever device, comprising a light guide having one end facing the light source chamber and the other end facing the transparent body of the knob. (2) The knob lighting structure in the lever device according to claim 1, wherein the light source chamber includes a heat dissipation through hole and a shielding wall that partially surrounds the outside of the through hole. (3) Boss parts are formed on the same axis on both the front and back sides of the support plate, two levers each having a rotating shaft part that fits into each boss part are attached to the support plate, and the light source chamber is The knobs in the lever device according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, wherein the respective pivot shafts are formed in communication with each other, and the knobs of the two levers are illuminated by one light source in the light source chamber. lighting structure.