JP2003123585A - Lighting structure for operation button - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting structure for an operation button capable of concurrently resolving a dent and uneven lighting of a front face of the operation button following solidification of synthetic resin. SOLUTION: The lighting structure is provided with the operation button 1 formed with an identification display 3 displaying 'AUTO' of the exposed white synthetic resin easily transmitting light in the front face 2 and coated in black in other portions, a lighting part 11 provided in a rear face side of the operation button 1 and lighting a rear face of the identification display 3, and rib like protrusion parts 4-10 adjusting luminance of light transmitting through the identification display 3. By blocking and dispersing light emitted toward the rear face of the identification display 3 from the lighting part 11 by the plurality of protrusions 4-10, light is evenly emitted from a whole of the identification display 3, and a shrinking amount of the front face of the operation button 1 following solidification of the synthetic resin is dispersed by the plurality of the protrusion parts 4-10 at a manufacturing stage of the operation button 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting structure for an operation button, which is provided in a control panel of an electronic device provided in an automobile and constitutes an illuminating device for illuminating an identification display on the front surface of the operation button.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in front of the driver's seat of an automobile,
Some have a control panel for operating an electronic device such as an air conditioner. On the front surface of the control panel, that is, on the front surface of the driver's seat, a plurality of operation buttons are provided. By pressing each operation button, the power is turned on / off, the air volume is adjusted, the temperature is adjusted,
It is designed to be able to carry out each of the autonomous driving. On the front of each operation button, there is an identification display such as a character or symbol that indicates which of the power button is on / off, air volume adjustment, temperature adjustment, automatic operation, etc. There is.

Some of such control panels are equipped with an illuminating device that allows the identification display on the front of the operation button to be seen even when the cab is dark. In this illuminating device, the identification display on the front surface of the operation button is provided so that light can be transmitted, and the illumination structure of the operation button is such that the identification display is illuminated from the back surface of the operation button by an illumination unit composed of a small lamp or the like. It is taken.

The operation button is made of a synthetic resin of a color that allows light to easily pass therethrough, for example, milky white. This synthetic resin is painted on the front and side surfaces formed in the shape of operation buttons in a color that does not easily transmit light, for example, black, and then the black paint is removed by laser cutting to expose the milky white synthetic resin. By this, an identification display is provided. That is, the identification mark is composed of the exposed milky white synthetic resin portion, and the other synthetic resin portions are painted black.

In the illumination structure of the operation button configured as described above, when the identification display is illuminated from the back side of the operation button by the illumination unit, light is transmitted through the identification display and emitted to the front side of the operation button. . This allows the operator to visually recognize the identification display and visually confirm the identification display of the operation button even when the cab is dark.

In the illumination structure of the operation button described above, the identification display may be partially bright or dark depending on the shape and size of the operation button and the positional relationship between the operation button and the illumination unit. Since uneven lighting occurs,
The unevenness of illumination is eliminated by increasing the thickness of the portion of the back surface of the identification display that is exposed to high-luminance light and reducing the thickness of the portion that is exposed to low-luminance light.

[0007]

However, when the uneven illumination is eliminated as described above, if the thickness of the identification mark of the portion exposed to high-luminance light is made too thick, the shrinkage caused by the solidification of the synthetic resin will occur. The front of the operation button is dented by. In other words, if the operation button is formed so that the front surface of the operation button is not dented, the aesthetic appearance of the operation button can be secured, but uneven lighting may occur, and the wall thickness should be increased to eliminate uneven lighting. If so, the aesthetic appearance of the operation button can be ensured at the time of lighting, but the operation button may be dented on the front surface.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned current situation, and an object thereof is to provide an operation button lighting structure capable of simultaneously eliminating unevenness in the front surface of the operation button due to the solidification of the synthetic resin and uneven lighting. To provide.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an operation button, an illuminating section for illuminating the back surface of the operation button, and an identification display shape formed on the front surface of the operation button. The light transmission part that transmits the light from the illumination part and a plurality of protrusions that are formed on the back surface of the operation button and that adjust the brightness of the light transmitted through the light transmission part are configured.

In the present invention thus constructed, the light illuminated from the illumination unit to the back surface of the operation button is blocked or diffused by the plurality of protrusions when passing through the light transmission unit. The brightness of the light transmitted through the transmissive portion is adjusted so that the light is uniformly emitted from the entire light transmissive portion to the front surface side of the operation button, and uneven illumination can be eliminated. Further, at the manufacturing stage of the operation button, the contraction amount on the front surface of the operation button due to the solidification of the synthetic resin is dispersed by the plurality of protrusions, so that the contraction amount on the front surface of the operation button is small. Operation buttons can be formed without denting the front surface of the. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously eliminate the dent on the front surface of the operation button due to the solidification of the synthetic resin and the uneven illumination.

In the above invention, the protrusion may be located on the back surface of the region where the light transmitting portion is provided. According to the invention, the light illuminating the light transmitting portion can be reliably obtained. Can interfere with or spread.

In the above invention, the protrusions may be provided in a rib shape. According to the invention, a small number of protrusions reliably block or diffuse the light illuminated on the light transmitting portion. You can

In the above invention, the protrusion may be formed in a trapezoidal shape protruding from the lower bottom toward the upper bottom,
In such an invention, when connecting the other member and the operation button, the inclined portion of the protrusion (the portion corresponding to the hypotenuse of the trapezoid)
It is possible to facilitate the positioning of other members in the vicinity.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a lighting structure for an operation button according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing this embodiment, and FIG.
Is a rear view of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

The present embodiment is a lighting structure of operation buttons of a control panel of an electronic device provided in an automobile or the like, for example, a control panel of an air conditioner. A plurality of operation buttons are provided on the front surface of the control panel, that is, the surface in front of the driver's seat. Each of the operation buttons can be turned on / off, the air volume can be adjusted, the temperature can be adjusted, and the automatic operation can be performed by pressing the buttons. On the front of each operation button, there is an identification display such as letters and symbols that indicate which of the power button is to be turned on / off, air volume adjustment, temperature adjustment, automatic operation, etc. .

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, "AUT" is used as an identification display shape indicating, for example, automatic operation of an air conditioner.
An identification display 3 which is a light transmitting portion "O" is provided with an operation button 1 provided on the front surface 2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a lighting unit 11 that includes a small lamp or the like and illuminates the back surface of the operation button 1 is provided.

The operation button 1 is formed of a synthetic resin of a color that easily transmits light, for example, milky white. This synthetic resin should be formed in the shape of the operation button 1 and painted on the front and side surfaces with a color that does not easily transmit light, for example, black, and then the black paint is removed by laser cutting to expose the milky white synthetic resin. There is provided an identification display 3 called "AUTO". That is, the identification display 3 is composed of the exposed milky white synthetic resin portion, and the other synthetic resin portions are painted black.

In particular, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of protrusions 4 to 10 are provided in a rib shape on the back surface of the area where the identification display 3 is provided. These protrusions 4
As shown in FIG. 4, each of 10 to 10 has an operation button 1
Is formed in a trapezoidal shape in a direction projecting from the back surface of the trapezoid, and is formed so as to project in a direction from a lower bottom of the trapezoid to an upper bottom. Further, they are arranged substantially along the vertical direction of the identification display 3. Further, these protrusions 4 to 10 are formed integrally with the operation button 1 by a mold, for example.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, the light illuminated from the illumination unit 11 to the back surface of the operation button 1 passes through the identification display 3, so that the operator can see the identification display 3 shine. As a result, even if the operator's cab is dark, the operator
It can be visually confirmed that the operation button 1 switches the air conditioner to the automatic operation control.

When the back surface of the operation button 1 is illuminated as described above, the light illuminated toward the back surface of the identification display 3 of the operation button 1 is blocked or diffused by the plurality of protrusions 4 to 10. is doing. As a result, the brightness of the light passing through the identification display 3 is adjusted, and the light is uniformly emitted from the entire identification display 3 to the front surface 2 side of the operation button 1.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the light from the illumination unit 11 is blocked or diffused by the projections 4 to 10, whereby the brightness of the light transmitted through the identification display 3 is adjusted and the identification display 3 is displayed. Since the light is emitted uniformly from the whole, uneven lighting can be eliminated. Further, in the manufacturing stage of the operation button 1, the contraction amount of the front surface of the operation button 1 due to the solidification of the synthetic resin is dispersed by the plurality of protrusions 4 to 10, so that the contraction amount of the front surface 2 of the operation button 1 is small. As a result, the operation button 1 can be formed without denting the front surface 2 of the operation button 1. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously eliminate the dents on the front surface 2 of the operation button 1 due to the solidification of the synthetic resin and the uneven illumination, that is, it is possible to ensure the aesthetic appearance of the operation button 1 and the aesthetic appearance during illumination.

Further, in this embodiment, the size, shape, height, interval, etc. of the protrusions 4 to 10 are set according to the brightness of the light illuminated from the illumination unit 11 to the back surface of the identification display 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the illumination unit 11 can be positioned diagonally with respect to the area where the identification display 3 is provided.
As a result, the degree of freedom in design can be increased, and the number of components can be reduced by, for example, sharing one illuminated portion with another adjacent operation button (not shown).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the heights of the protrusions 4 to 10 (dimensions corresponding to the height of the trapezoid) are set to be the same as each other. It is not limited to this. That is, due to the shape and size of the operation button, the positional relationship between the operation button and the illumination unit, etc., the brightness of the light illuminated on the back surface of the identification display is different, so that the light of high brightness is illuminated. In order to eliminate uneven illumination, adjust the brightness of the light from the illuminating section by increasing the height of the protrusion in the area where it is illuminated and reducing the height in the area where low-luminance light is illuminated. You may

Further, in this embodiment, by providing the protrusions 4 to 10 in a rib shape, it is possible to reliably block or diffuse the light illuminated toward the identification display 3 with a small number of protrusions. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a plurality of protrusions having a columnar shape or a conical shape may be provided on the back surface of the identification display 3 to eliminate the uneven illumination.

Further, in this embodiment, by forming the protrusions 4 to 10 in a trapezoidal shape, when the operation button 1 and the other member are coupled, the portion of the other member is changed to the protrusions 4 to 10.
Although it is easy to position it near the inclined portion of 10 (the portion corresponding to the hypotenuse of the trapezoid) to improve the assemblability of the operation button and other members, the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the trapezoid does not have to be trapezoidal as long as it does not interfere with the connection between the operation button 1 and other members.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the brightness of the light transmitted through the light transmitting portion is adjusted by the plurality of protrusions and the light is uniformly emitted from the entire light transmitting portion, so that the uneven illumination is eliminated. In addition, at the manufacturing stage of the operation button,
The amount of shrinkage on the front of the operation button that accompanies the solidification of the synthetic resin is dispersed by the multiple protrusions, so the amount of shrinkage on the front of the operation button is small, which prevents the operation button from denting. Can be formed.
Therefore, the dent on the front surface of the operation button due to the solidification of the synthetic resin and the uneven illumination can be eliminated at the same time, that is, the aesthetic appearance of the operation button and the aesthetic appearance during illumination can be secured.

In the above-mentioned invention, if the projection is located on the back surface of the region where the light transmitting portion is provided, it is possible to reliably prevent or diffuse the light illuminated on the light transmitting portion. Therefore, it is possible to surely adjust the brightness of the light transmitted through the light transmitting portion.

In the above-mentioned invention, if the protrusions are provided in the shape of ribs, a small number of protrusions can surely prevent or diffuse the light illuminated toward the light transmitting portion. It can be easily formed with a mold together with the operation button body.

In the above-mentioned invention, if the protrusion is formed in a trapezoidal shape protruding from the lower bottom to the upper bottom, the portion of the other member is inclined when the other member is joined. Since it is easy to position it near the portion (the portion corresponding to the hypotenuse portion of the trapezoid), the assembling property of the operation button can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a lighting structure for an operation button of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the present embodiment shown in FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 operation button 2 front 3 Identification display (light transmission part) 4-10 protrusions 11 Illumination part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation button, an illumination unit that illuminates the back surface of the operation button, a light transmission unit that is formed on the front surface of the operation button as an identification display shape, and transmits the light from the illumination unit, and the operation. An illumination structure for an operation button, comprising: a plurality of protrusions formed on the back surface of the button to adjust the brightness of light transmitted through the light transmitting portion. 2. The illumination structure for an operation button according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions are located on a back surface of a region where the light transmitting portion is provided. 3. The operation button illumination structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of protrusions are provided in a rib shape. 4. The illumination structure for an operation button according to claim 3, wherein the protrusion is formed in a trapezoidal shape protruding from the lower bottom toward the upper bottom.