JPH0236176Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an illuminated push button switch that has a simple structure, has a small number of parts, improves assembly workability, and reduces costs.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, push-button switches attached to audio devices, watches, various electrical appliances, etc. generally have an operation button 2 arranged on the front panel 1 of the housing as shown in FIG. It consists of a spring 3 to be applied, a feather touch switch (switch body) 5, etc. arranged on a printed circuit board 4,
When the operating button 2 is pressed against the spring 3, a switch pressing portion 6 integrally provided on the back surface of the button 2 presses the switch body 5 to operate it. Recently, various types of illuminated push-button switches have been proposed in which the operating buttons are illuminated to facilitate identification of whether the push-button switch is in an inoperative state or not. In such a push button switch, a light guide made of acrylic resin or the like is used as a light transmission means.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

By the way, the conventional push button switch requires a spring 3 to bias the operation button 2, a washer 8 to prevent the switch pressing part 6 from coming out of the hole 7, etc., so it is difficult to install these accessory parts. It is troublesome, has poor assembly workability, and has the disadvantages of increased costs due to the increase in the number of parts. Further, in the case of using the spring 3, the operating feeling differs depending on the switch due to variations in the spring.

[Means for solving ideas]

The illuminated push button switch according to the present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a light-transmitting operation button that is freely disposed in the button mounting hole on the front panel corresponding to the switch body. a button, a light guide disposed behind the front panel that guides light from a light source to the operation button, and a soft elastic body having translucency interposed between the light guide and the operation button. The light guide and the soft elastic body are provided with an insertion hole through which the switch pressing portion of the operation button passes, and the soft elastic body is provided with a light amount adjustment portion that adjusts the amount of light directed toward the operation button. be.

[Effect]

In the present invention, since a soft elastic body is interposed between the operation button and the light guide, there is no need to provide a return spring on the operation button, and unlike a spring, the soft elastic body can be used for multiple operation buttons. Since it can be commonly disposed on both screens, it is easy to make the operation feel of all the operation buttons the same, and since the operation buttons are translucent, the illumination of the operation buttons is also good. Further, the light amount adjustment section made of a soft elastic body adjusts the amount of light from the light source that passes through the light guide and goes toward the operation button.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the illuminated push button switch according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the operation button,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the light guide and the soft elastic body. In these figures, for example, four button mounting holes 12a to 12d of different sizes are formed at appropriate intervals in the surface panel 11 that closes the front opening of the case 10. 1
Operation buttons 13a to 13d are inserted into 2a to 12d so as to be freely protrusive and retractable from the inside of the case 10, and are prevented from coming off toward the panel surface side by a flange 14. The operation buttons 13a to 13d are made of a translucent resin such as acrylic or polycarbonate, and characters, symbols, etc. are displayed on the surface to form a display section, and a switch pressing section 15a is provided at the center of the back surface. ~15d are provided in a protruding manner. In this case, the shapes of the operation buttons 13a to 13d can be changed in various ways. For example, in order to provide brighter illumination, the lower surface of the operation buttons 13 may be hollowed out to form a shell structure, as shown in FIG.

The rear opening of the case 10 has a printed circuit board 1
6, and this printed circuit board 16
Switch bodies 17a to 17d are disposed on the inner surface of the switch body corresponding to the switch pressing portions 15a to 15d of the operation buttons 13a to 13d, and a light source 18 for illuminating each of the operation buttons 13a to 13d is arranged. The light emitted from the light source 18 is connected to the operation buttons 13a to 13a.
A light guide 19 is provided to guide the light to 3d.

The light guide 19 has all the operation buttons 13a to 13.
d, and a plurality of legs 19B that support the flat plate part 19A, and one end surface of the flat plate part 19A is connected to the light source 18.
A light-receiving surface 20 is formed close to and opposite to the light-receiving surface 20, and stipples 22 are formed on the back surface to reflect upwardly the light incident from the light-receiving surface 20 into the flat plate portion 19A.
The flat plate portion 19A has the operation buttons 13a to 13a.
Four insertion holes 23a to 23d are formed corresponding to the switch bodies 13d, and the switch pressing parts 15a to 15d are respectively inserted into these holes 23a to 23d, and the protruding end surfaces thereof are inserted into the respective switch bodies 17.
It is closely opposed to a to 17d.

A flat plate-shaped soft elastic body 25 having translucent properties is interposed between each of the operation buttons 13a to 13d and the light guide 19, thereby allowing each of the operation buttons 13a to 13d to
The flange 14 of 13d is normally pressed lightly against the back surface of the front panel 11. As the soft elastic body 25, a material that can be easily compressed by pressing the operation buttons 13a to 13d and has translucency, such as sponge, is used. The soft elastic body 25 is also formed with insertion holes 26a to 26d through which the switch pressing portions 15a to 15d pass.

In this case, the insertion hole 26a farthest from the light source 18
In order to prevent a decrease in the amount of light, the hole is formed into a long hole to form a light amount adjustment section. Further, this light amount adjusting section is not limited to a long hole, but may be a notch 40 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 3.

According to the illuminated push button switch having such a configuration, the soft elastic body 25 is connected to each operation button 13.
Since a to 13d are set and held at their initial positions,
There is no need to provide a return spring for each operation button 13a to 13d, so the number of parts can be reduced, and the soft elastic body 25 is easier to assemble than a spring, and even if the operation button Even if the number increases, it is only necessary to select and use parts of a size corresponding to the number, so the number of parts does not directly increase, and the assembly work efficiency is improved. In addition, since the soft elastic body 25 is commonly used for all of the operation buttons 13a to 13d,
All the 3D operation buttons are set the same, and unlike springs, they have a sound-deadening effect, so operation button 1
Noise during operation of 3a to 13d is effectively absorbed.

Further, the illumination of the operation buttons 13a to 13d is also good. That is, among the light emitted from the light source 18 and guided into the light guide 19, the light emitted above the light guide 19 is transmitted to the soft elastic body 25 and the operation buttons 13a to 13d.
The operation button 13
A to 13d are brightly illuminated to easily and reliably identify their function display.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the soft elastic body 25 is provided with the elongated hole 26a and the notch 40 as a light amount adjustment section, all the operation buttons 13a to 13d can be illuminated with substantially uniform brightness, improving the illumination effect. let

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, the illuminated push button switch according to the present invention is constructed by interposing a soft elastic body having translucency between the operation button and the light guide. There is no need to install a return spring, so when multiple operation buttons are arranged in parallel, the soft elastic body can be used commonly for all operation buttons, so there is no increase in the number of parts and assembly is easier. It is easy to work, can be provided at low cost, allows all the operation buttons to have the same feel, and has an excellent noise absorption effect. Furthermore, since the soft elastic body has a light amount adjusting section in addition to being translucent, all the operation buttons can be illuminated uniformly, improving the illumination effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view of the operation button, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the light guide and soft elastic body, Figure 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the operation button, and Figure 5 is a conventional example of a push button switch. FIG. 10...Case, 11...Surface panel, 12a
~12d...Button mounting hole, 13a-13d...Operation button, 15a-15d...Switch pressing part, 16
...Printed circuit board, 17a-17d...Switch body, 18...Light source, 19...Light guide, 23a-
23d...Insertion hole, 25...Soft elastic body, 26a
~26d...Insertion hole, 40...Notch (light amount adjustment part).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A translucent operation button that is disposed in a button mounting hole on the front panel corresponding to the switch body so that it can appear and retract freely, and a light source that is disposed at the rear of the panel. a light guide that guides light from the light to the operation button, and a soft elastic body having translucency interposed between the light guide and the operation button, the light guide and the soft elastic body being interposed between the light guide and the operation button. , an illuminated push button switch, characterized in that each of the operation buttons has an insertion hole through which a switch pressing portion passes through, and the soft elastic body is provided with a light amount adjustment portion that adjusts the amount of light directed toward the operation button. . (2) The illuminated push button switch according to claim 1, wherein the soft elastic body is a sponge.