JPS6323554B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cassette player with a radio, and particularly to an operation/display section thereof.

The cassette loading section of a cassette-type magnetic tape player is generally equipped with a door, but the main purpose of this door is to prevent dust from entering the cassette loading section and the loaded cassettes, and is secondarily installed from a design perspective. has been done. Most of them have a cover plate structure with a window through which the amount of tape to be wound can be seen, and have a relatively large area corresponding to the cassette. Therefore, when a radio-equipped cassette player with a door like the one described above is adopted for use in a car, the door occupies a relatively large space because the car-mounted player is generally made small, and the operating state of the device cannot be controlled. There are problems in terms of design or space in arranging the display section and the operation section such as various switches for performing the necessary operations on the front panel of the device, and even if this problem could be solved by downsizing, Some drawbacks remain, such as difficulty in operation and visual inspection.

The present invention provides an operation/display mechanism that can solve these difficulties, and proposes an extremely thin operation/display device that combines a liquid crystal display panel and a thin plate-like transparent switch. This operation/display device provides extremely clear and appropriate operation guidance, and because it is extremely thin, it can be attached to the door of the cassette loading section and does not take up space on the front panel of a car-mounted cassette stereo with radio. You can make sure that you don't have to. The cassette player with radio of the present invention is characterized by a transparent thin-plate switch in which a movable electrode is provided on a transparent substrate having an electrode via an insulating spacer, and a display on a liquid crystal display panel having a light source for illumination on the back side. A display/display switch panel, which is stacked in layers on the surface side and has a flexible board for power supply connected to the ends of the thin plate switch and the liquid crystal display panel, is disposed on the door of the cassette loading section, and At the position corresponding to the switch, there is an electrode for displaying instruction information such as shape and function required for switch operation, and at a portion of the liquid crystal display panel other than the above position, other general information related to the radio and cassette player is provided. This will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and the two-dot broken line in the figure shows an imaginary line when the door of the cassette loading section is open. 1 is the outer case (case),
2 is a door of the cassette loading section, 3 is a display/switch panel according to the present invention, and 4 is a volume control knob, which has the function of turning on and off the power of the apparatus by pressing the knob. 5 is the sound quality adjustment knob, 6 is the left/right volume balance adjustment knob, 7 is the radio AM band selection button,
8 is the same FM band selection button, 9 is a tape play start button, and 10 is a tape play stop/cassette eject button. When these buttons are pressed, the door 2 opens and the cassette can be installed or removed. Regarding button 10, if the tape is to be stopped without ejecting the cassette, buttons 7 and 8 may be pressed or knob 4 may be turned off.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 1;
is an exploded view of the same, and figure b is an assembled view of the same. The door shown in the figure is the transparent switch part SW and the liquid crystal display part LCD.
It is composed of a surface light source section L for LCD illumination, and a door frame section 2 that holds these sections and masks unnecessary parts around them. Each part will be explained in detail below. Reference numeral 31 denotes a flexible transparent movable electrode, which is, for example, a transparent conductive film or thin plate glass, the back surface of which is coated with a Nesa film of tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), lead oxide (PbO ₂ ), or the like. Reference numeral 41 denotes a transparent insulating spacer, which is formed by providing a hole 41a in a plastic film at a position corresponding to the switch electrode portion 33b, etc. Note that the spacer 41 may be printed with a resist made of transparent resin. Reference numeral 33 denotes a transparent substrate having an electrode made of Nesa film attached to the front surface thereof, and together with the movable electrode 31 and the spacer 41 constitutes a transparent switch section SW. 34 and 37 are polarizing filters having axes perpendicular to each other, which are used in this embodiment because a TN-FE type LCD cell is used, but are not necessary when using other types of LCD cells. There is also. Furthermore, since LCD cells are generally sensitive to ultraviolet rays, it is desirable to stack UV filters on both sides of the LCD cell or to use a polarizing filter with a UV filter. 35 is a liquid crystal panel, 35b
are the terminals of the liquid crystal electrodes, and these are connected to the polarizing filter 3.
4 and 37 to form a liquid crystal display section.
38 is a milky-white semi-transmissive reflector, and the LCD
Since the cells are not self-luminous, they were designed to be used at night, and function as a reflector during the day and a diffuser during the night. Reference numeral 39 denotes a light scattering plate for liquid crystal illumination, which is provided with a mounting screw hole 39b and a light source introduction part (lamp house) 39a, and a light scattering reflective film 39c is provided on the back side. Note that this plate 39 is made of transparent acrylic resin or the like and functions as a light guide plate, and the light scattering is performed by the side end face excluding the light scattering reflective film 39c and the light source introduction part 39a. These constitute a surface light source section for LCD illumination. In addition, in FIG. 2b, 40 is the light source introduction part 3.
An LCD illumination lamp is inserted in 9a, and 42 is a flexible board for external connection of the switch electrode terminal and the LCD electrode terminal.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the transparent switch section, liquid crystal display section, and LCD illumination surface light source section of FIG. 2.
A pair of opposing comb-shaped fixed electrodes 33a are formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 33. The fixed electrode 33a is made of Nesa film and is provided at a position corresponding to each square hole 41a of the transparent insulating spacer 41. Transparent substrate 3
A directional conductive rubber sheet 37 is placed on one edge of the surface of 3.
is fixed, and the terminals 33b of the pair of comb-shaped fixed electrodes 33a are connected to the wiring of the flexible substrate 42 via the rubber sheet. The liquid crystal panel 35 is provided with a pattern electrode 35a and a common electrode (not shown), and a terminal portion 35b of the wiring drawn out from the pattern electrode 35a is also connected to the wiring of the flexible substrate 42 by a directional conductive rubber 36. Light source introduction part (lamp house) of light scattering plate 39 for liquid crystal lighting
A cylindrical LCD illumination lamp 40 is attached to 39a.

In this device, for example, by placing a hand on the movable electrode 31 and pushing it, the movable electrode 31 is recessed and short-circuits the pair of comb-shaped fixed electrodes 33a on the transparent substrate 33. In this way, the switch is closed, and this signal is drawn out through the wiring of the flexible substrate 42 and becomes a command for predetermined control, display, etc. The position on the movable electrode 31 to be pressed is indicated by the pattern electrode 35a of the liquid crystal panel 35. That is, a voltage is applied between the pattern electrode 35a and the common electrode through the wiring on the flexible substrate 42, and a pattern according to the pattern of the electrode 35a appears. You can see it from here, so just press that part. Various display formats are possible.
For example, a format in which the pressed part is surrounded by a frame (a white frame, a black frame, or a frame colored by the colored light generated from the lamp 40 or its filter), and characters or symbols for operation guidance using other pattern electrodes are displayed in the vicinity of the pressed part; Then, as a response, the area within the frame is lit, etc., and the operation guidance display is only radio-related in the case of radio listening, and only the cassette-related display in the case of tape performance, etc. This is an example. All of these can be easily implemented by selecting the shape of the pattern electrode 35a and the voltage application control format. In order to display the remaining amount of tape, it is preferable to leave the window in the lid of the normal cassette loading section blank so that it can be seen through without attaching a switch or pattern electrode. Further, the display pattern 35c may also be used as a tape counter.

FIG. 4 shows another pattern example of the transparent switch part SW, and a shows the pattern of a pair of comb-shaped fixed electrodes 33a formed on the surface of the transparent switch plate 33, each corresponding to the electrode pattern of the LCD described later. are doing. The lead wires of these electrodes are gathered at the lower side of the switch plate 33 in the drawing, and are guided to the outside from this. In this example, one pole of each pair of fixed electrodes is a common electrode. In the same figure (b), the use of the insulating spacer 41 with a square hole is omitted, and instead a transparent conductive film 31 is used as an ultra-thin glass plate 31A, and the Nesa film 31 is applied only to the movable electrode part of the glass plate.
Another example will be shown in which B is coated and frit glass or the like is fused at a proper location 41' and used as a spacer. Figure c shows a view of the glass plate 31A viewed from the end surface. FIG. 4d is a perspective view of the back side of FIG. 4b.
When viewed from the front, the switch section SW composed of the movable electrode plate 31A and the switch board 33 looks like the one shown in FIG. 4e, and faces the front surface of the LCD pattern shown in FIG. 5.

Figure 5 is an example of an LCD pattern.
indicates a state in which all cell patterns are lit. The upper pattern 35c is for general display, and displays the preset channel number, band information, reception frequency, etc. of the radio. The patterns 35a in the middle and bottom rows are patterns for guiding switch operation, and display the position, name (function), etc. of the switch. Figure b shows the lighting state of the LCD cell when the radio FM band is selected, and Figure c shows the lighting state of the LCD cell when stereo is selected.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the switches necessary for operating the device are selectively displayed on the LCD, which not only simplifies the operation, but also improves visibility by devising the shape of the display pattern. It also eliminates erroneous operation, which helps reduce driver fatigue, especially when used in cars.
Furthermore, when the power is turned off, all of the LCD patterns are turned off, making the front surface even more clear, giving the design duality and increasing flexibility.
Furthermore, if a liquid crystal display/switch panel that performs these functions is attached to the door of the cassette loading section, the usable space on the front panel of the radio cassette increases, which is extremely useful in realizing a compact cassette stereo system with a radio.

The present invention can be implemented in various ways, some examples of which will be listed below. (1) The liquid crystal display panel is constructed so that only the necessary operation switches can be selected and displayed independently when operating the radio and cassette. (2) The liquid crystal display panel shall be configured so that when neither the radio nor the cassette is in operation, either there is no display or the clock is displayed. (3) The door to which the display/switch panel is attached is not just a lid, but is constructed as a cassette holder that can be moved to the playing state and ejected. (4) A light source is provided on the liquid crystal display panel, and a semi-transmissive reflector is provided in the light source section, so that it is a reflective type during the daytime and a transmissive type that displays by illumination from the back at night, so that it can be used both day and night. (5) The light source shall be a long, cylindrical lamp, and the lamp shall be installed within the same door.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the door in Figure 1, Figure a is an exploded view, Figure b is an assembled view, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 2, and Figures 4 a to e are the switch. FIGS. 5 a to 5 c are plan views showing specific examples of the LCD display section. In the figure, SW is a transparent thin plate switch, LCD is a liquid crystal display section, and 35a and 35c are pattern display electrodes.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transparent thin plate switch with a movable electrode provided on a transparent substrate with an electrode via an insulating spacer,
A display/display switch panel is loaded in a cassette, which is stacked in layers on the display surface side of a liquid crystal display panel having a light source section for illumination on the back side, and a flexible board for power supply is connected to the ends of the thin plate switch and the liquid crystal display panel. an electrode for displaying instruction information such as shape and function required for switch operation at a position of the liquid crystal display panel corresponding to the switch; A cassette player with a radio, characterized in that the cassette player is provided with an electrode for displaying the radio and other general information related to the cassette player.